Stom f^e fetfimrg of

(jBequcftf^ii 6g §tm fo
f^e fei6rarB of

(pttnceton C$eofogtc<if ^eminArj

-^ A>

. ,i , \

>•■ ^ - , >■■ t

. . >.\'^

> ' ■'

NOTES,

CKITICAL, ILLUSTKATIVE, AND PRACTICAL,

ON

THE BOOK OF JOB:

A NEW TRANSLATION,

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION,

ALBERT BARNES.

VOL. L

FIFTH EDITION.

N E W - Y O R K :

LEAVITT & COMPANY, 191 BROADWAY

1 849.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by

ALBERT Barnes.

in the Office of the Clerk of the District Court of tJie Eastern

District of Pennsylvania.

INTRODUCTION

In reference to no part of the Scriptures have so many questions
arisen as to th« Book of Job. The time of its composition ; the
author ; the country where the scene was laid ; the question whe-
ther Job was a real person ; the nature and design of the poem ;
have been points on which a great variety of opinion has been
entertained among expositors, and on which different views still
prevail. ) It is important, in order to a correct understanding of the
Book, that all the light should be thrown on these subjects which
can be; and though amidst the variety of opinion which prevails
among men of the highest distinction in learning absolute certainty
cannot be hoped for, yet such advances have been made in the in-
vestigation that on some of these points we may arrive to a high
degree of probability.

§ 1. The question whether Job loas a real person.

The. first question which presents itself in the examination of the
Book is, whether Job had a real existence. This has been doubted
on such grounds as the following. (1.) The Book has been sup-
posed by some to have every mark of an allegory. Allegories and
parables, it is said, are not uncommon in the Scriptures where a
case is supposed, and then the narrative proceeds as if it were real.
Such an instance, it has been maintained, occurs here, in which
the author of the poem designed to illustrate important truths, but
instead of stating them in an abstract form, chose to present them
in the more graphic and interesting form of a supposed case — in
which we are led to sympathize with a sufferer ; to see the ground
of the difficulty in the question under discussion in a more affect-
ing manner than could be presented in an abstract form ; and where
the argument has all to interest the mind which one has when
occurring in real life. (2.) It has been maintained that some of the
transactions in the Book must have been of this character, or are
such as could not have actually occurred. Particularly it has been
said that the account of the interview of Satan with Jehovah (ch. i

IV INTRODUCTION.

6-12, ii. 1-7) must be regarded merely as a supposed case, it
being in the highest degree improbable that such an interview
would occur, and such a conversation be held. (3.) The same
conclusion has been drawn from the artificial character of the
statements about the possessions of Job, both before and after his
trials — statements which appear as if the case were merely sup-
posed, and which would not be likely to occur in reality. Thus
we have only round numbers mentioned in enumerating his pos-
sessions— as seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hun-
dred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses. So, also, there is
something artificial in the manner in which the sacred numbers
seven and three are used. He h£idseve7i thousand sheep, seven sons
— both before and after his trials ; his three friends came and sat
down seven days and seven nights without saying a word to condole
with him (ch. xi. 13) ; and both before and afler his trials he had
th7'ee daughters. The same artificial and parabolical appearance,
it is said, is seen in the fact that after his recovery his possessions
were exactly doubled, and he had again in his old age exactly the
same number of seven sons and three daughters which he had before
his afflictions. (4.) That the whole narration is allegorical or para-
bolical has been further argued from the conduct of the friends of Job
Their sitting down seven days and seven nights without saying any
thing, when they had come expressly to condole with him, it is
said, is a wholly improbable circumstance, and looks as if the whole
were a supposed case. (5.) The same thing has been inferred
from the manner in which the Book is written. It is of the highest
order of poetry. The speeches are most elaborate; are filled with
accurate and carefully prepared argument ; are arranged with great
care; are expressed in the most sententious manner; embody the
results of long and careful observation, and are wholly unlike what
would be uttered in unpremeditated and extemporary debate. No
men, it is said, talk in this manner; nor can it be supposed that
beautiful poetry and sublime argument, such as abound in this
book, ever fell in animated debate from the lips of men. See Eich-
horn, Einleitung in das Alte Tes. V. Band. 129-131. From con-
siderations such as these, the historical character of the Book has
been doubted, and the whole has been regarded as a supposed case
designed to illustrate the great question which the author of the
poem proposed to examine.

It is important, therefore, to inquire what reasons there are for
believing that such a person as Job lived, and how far the transac-
tions referred to in the Book are to be regarded as historically true.

(1.) The fact of his existence is expressly declared, and the
narrative has all the appearance of being a simple record of an
actual occurrence. The first two chapters of the Book, and a part

INTRODUCTION. V

of the last chapter, are simple historical records The remainder
of the Book is indeed poetic, but these portions have none of the
characteristics of poetry. There are not to be found in the Bible
more simple and plain historical statements than these ; and there
are none which, in themselves considered, might not be as properly
set aside as allegorical. This fact should be regarded as decisive,
unless there is some reason which does not appear on the face of the
narrative for regarding it as allegorical.

(2.) The account of the existence of such a man is regarded as
historically true by the inspired writers of the Scriptures. Thus
in Ezekiel xiv. 14, God says, " Though these three men, Noah,
Daniel, and Job were in it [the land], they should deliver but their
own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God." Comp. vs.
16, 20, of the same chapter. Here Job is referred to as a real char-
acter as distinctly as Noah and Daniel, and all the circumstances
are just such as they would be on the supposition that he had a
real existence. They are alike spoken of as real ' men ;' as having
souls — ' they should deliver but their own souls by their own right-
eousness ;' as having sons and daughters — ' they shall deliver nei-
ther sons nor daughters, they only shall be delivered' (ver. 16),
and are in all respects mentioned alike as real characters. Of the
historic fact that there were such men as Noah and Daniel there
can be no doubt, and it is evident that Ezekiel as certainly regarded
Job as a real character as he did either of the others. A parallel
passage, which will illustrate this, occurs in Jeremiah xv. 1 : " Then
said the Lord unto me. Though Moses and Samuel stood before
me, yet my mind could not be towards this people." Here Moses
and Samuel are spoken of as real characters, and there is no doubt
of their having existed. Yet they are mentioned in the same
manner as Job is in the passage in Ezekiel. In either case it is
incredible that a reference should have been made to a fictitious
character. The appeal is one that could have been made only to
a real character, and there can be no reasonable doubt that Eze-
kiel regarded Job as having really existed ; or rather, since it is
God who speaks and not Ezekiel, that he speaks of Job as having
actually existed. The same thing is evident from a reference to
Job by the Apostle James: "Ye have heard of the patience of
Job, and have seen the end of the Lord ; that the Lord is very
pitiful and of tender mercy" (ch. v. 11); that is, the happy issue
to which the Lord brought all his trials, showing that he was piti-
ful to those in affliction, and of great mercy. There can be no
doubt that there is reference here to the sufferings of a real man, as
there is to the i^eal compassion which the Lord shows to one in
great trials. It is incredible that this sacred writer should have
appealed in this instance to the case of one whom he regarded as

VI INTRODUCTION.

a fictitious character ; and if the views of Ezekiel anc James are to
be relied on, there can be no doubt that Job had a real existence.
Ezekiel mentions him just as he does Noah and Daniel, and James
mentions him just as he does Elijah (ch. v. 17) ; and so far as this
historical record goes there is the same evidence of the actual
existence of the one as of the other.

(3.) The specifications of places and names in the Book are not
such as would occur in an allegory. Had it been merely a ' sup-
posed case,' to illustrate some great truth, these specifications
would have been unnecessary, and would not have occurred. In
the acknowledged parables of the Scripture, there are seldom any
very minute specifications of names and places. Thus, in the para-
ble of the prodigal son, neither the name of the father, nor of the
sons, nor of the place where the scene was laid, is mentioned. So
of the nobleman who went to receive a kingdom ; the unjust stew-
ard; the two virgins, and of numerous others. But here we have
distinct specifications of a great number of things, which are in no
way necessary to illustrate the main truth in the poem. Thus we
have not only the name of the sufferer, but the place of his resi-
dence mentioned, as if it were well known. We have the names
of his friends, and the places of their residence mentioned —
" Eliphaz the Tcmanitc;' and " Bildad the Shuhite;' and " Zo-
phar the Naamathite," and Elihu " the son of Barachel the Buzitc,
of the kindred of Ram." Why are the places of residence of
these persons mentioned unless it be meant to intimate that they
were real persons, and not allegorical characters? In like manner
we have express mention of the Sabeans and the Chaldeans —
specifications wholly unnecessary if not improbable if the work is
an allegory. The single word ' robbers ' would have answered all
the purpose, and would have been such as an inspired writer would
have used unless the transaction were real, for an inspired writer
would not have charged this offence on any class of men, thus
holding them up to lasting reproach, unless an event of this kind
had actually occurred. When the Saviour, in the parable of the
good Samaritan, mentions a robbery that occurred between Jeru-
salem and Jericho, the word ' thieves,' or more properly robbers, is
*)ie only word used. No names are mentioned, nor is any class of
men referred to, who would by such a mention of the name be held
up to infamy. Thus also we have the particular statement respect-
ing the feasting of the sons and daughters of Job ; his sending for
and admonishing them ; his offering up special sacrifices on their
Dehalf ; the account of the destruction of the oxen, the sheep, the
camels, and the house where the sons and daughters of Job were — ^^
all statements of circumstances which would not be likely to occur
in an allegory. They are such partiailar statements as we expect to

INTRODUCTION. Vll

find respecting the real transactions, and they bear on the face
of them the simple impression of truth. This is not the kind
of information which we look for in a parable. In the para-
ble of the rich man and Lazarus, almost the only one spoken by
the Saviour where a name is mentioned, we have not that of the
rich man ; and though the name Lazarus is mentionetl, yet that is
all. We have no account of his family, of his place of residence,
of his genealogy, of the time when he lived; and the name itself is
so common that it would be impossible even to suspect whom the
Saviour had in his eye, if he had any real individual at all. Far
different is this in the account of Job. It is true that in a romance,
or in an extended allegory like the Pilgrim's Progress, we expect
a detailed statement of names and places ; but there is no evidence
that there is any such extended fictitious narrative in the Bible,
and unless the Book of Job be one there is no such extended alle-

(4.) The objections urged against this view are not such as to
destroy the positive proof of the reality of the existence of Job.
The objections which have been urged against the historical truth
of the narrative, and which have already been in part alluded to,
are principally the following.

The first is, the account of the interview between God and Satan in
chs, 1 and 2. It is alleged that this is so improbable a transaction as
to throw an air of fiction over all the historical statements of the
book. In reply to this, it may be observed, first, that even if this
were not to be regarded as a literal transaction, it does not prove
that no such man as Job lived, and that the transactions in regard
to lihh were not real. He might have had an existence, and been
stripped of his possessions, and subjected to these long and painful
trials of his fidelity, even if this were a poetic ornamiCnt, or merely
a figurative representation. But, secondly, it is impossible to
prove that no such transaction occurred. The existence of such
a being as Satan is everywhere recognized in the Scriptures; the
account which is here given of his character accords entirely with
the uniform representation of him ; he exerts no power over Job
which is not expressly conceded to him ; and it is impossible to
prove that he does not even now perform the same things in the
trial of good men, which it is said that he did in the case of Job.
And even if it be admitted that there is somewhat of poetic state-
ment in the form in which he is introduced, still this does not
render the main account improbable and absurd. The Bible,
from the necessity of the case, abounds with representations of this
sort; and when it is said that God 'speaks' to men, that he con-
versed with Adam, that he spake to the serpent (Gen. iii,), we are
not necessarily to suppose that all this is strictly literal, nor doe«

VUl INTRODUCTION.

the fact that it is not strictly literal invalidate the main facts.
There were results, or there was a series of facts following, as if
this had been literally true. See Notes on ch. i. 6-12.

A second objection to the historical truth of the transactions
recorded in the book is, the poetic character of the work, and the
strong improbability that addresses of this kind should ever have
been made in the manner here represented. See Eichhorn, Ein
leit. V. 123, 124. They are of the highest order of poetry; they
partake not at all of the nature of extemporaneous efiusions ; they
indicate profound and close thinking, and are such as must have
required much time to have prepared them. Especially it is said
that it is in the highest degree improbable that Job, in the anguish
of his body and mind, should have been capable of giving utterance
to poetry and argument of this highly finished character. In
regard to this objection, it may be observed, (1,) that even if this
were so, and it were to be supposed that the arguments of the
various speakers have a poetic character, and were in reality never
uttered in the form in which we now have them, still this would
not invalidate the evidence which exists of the historic truth of the
facts stated about the existence and trials of Job. It might be
true that he lived and suffered in this manner, and that a discus-
sion of this character actually occurred, and that substantially
these arguments were advanced, though they were afterwards
wrought by Job himself or by some other hand into the poetic
form in which we now have them. Job himself lived after his
trials one hundred and forty years, and, in itself considered, there
is no improbability in the supposition, that when restored to the
vigorous use of his powers, and in the leisure which he enjoyed
he should have thought it worthy to present the argument which
he once held on this great subject in a more perfect form, and to
give to it a more poetic cast. In this case, the main historic truth
would be retained, and the real argument would in fact be stated —
though in a form more worthy of preservation than could be
expected to fall extemporaneously from the lips of the speakers.
But (2,) all the difficulty may be removed by a supposition which
is entirely in accordance with the character of the book and the
nature of the case. It is, that the several speeches succeeded each
other at such intervals as gave full time for reflection, and for care-
fully framing the argument. There is no evidence that the whole
argument was gone through with at one sitting; there are no
proofs that one speech followed immediately on another, or that a
sufficient interval of time may not have elapsed to give opportunity
for preparation to meet the views which had been suggested by the
previous speaker. Every thing in the book bears the marks of the
most careful deliberation, and is as free as possible from the hurry

INTRODUCTION. IX

and bustle of an extemporaneous debate. The sufferings of Job
were evidently of a protracted nature. His friends sat down
"seven days and seven nights" in silence before they said any
thing to him. The whole subject of the debate seems to be
arranged with most systematic care and regularity. The speakers
succeed each other in regular order in a series of arguments — in
each of these series following the same method, and no one of
them out of his place. No one is ever interrupted while speaking ;
and no matter how keen and sarcastic his invectives, how tortur-
ing his reproaches, how bold or blasphemous what he said was
thought to be, he is patiently heard till he has said all that he
designed to say; and then all that he said is carefully weighed and
considered in the reply. All this looks as if there might have
been ample time to arrange the reply before it was uttered, and
this supposition, of course, would relieve all the force of this objec-
tion. If this be so, then there is no more ground of objection
against the supposition that these things were spoken, as it is said
they were, than there is about the genuineness of the poems of the
Grecian Rhapsodists, composed with a view to public recitation,
or to the Iliad of Homer or the History of Herodotus, both of
which, after they were composed, were recited publicly by their
authors at Athens. No one can prove certainly that the several
persons named in the book — Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and
Elihu — were incompetent to compose the speeches which are
severally assigned to them, or that all the time necessary for such
a composition was not taken by them. Unless this can be done,
the objection of its improbability, so confidently urged by Eich-
horn (Einleit. v. 123, seq.), and defended by Noyes (Intro, pp. xx.
xxi.), where he says that "the supposition that so beautiful and
harmonious a whole, every part of which bears the stamp of the
highest genius, was the casual production of a man brought to the
gates of the grave by a loathsome disease, of three or four friends
who had come to comfort him in his affliction, all of them express-
ing their thoughts in poetical and measured language ; that the
Deity was actually heard to speak half an hour in the midst of a
violent storm ; and that the consultations in the heavenly world
were actual occurrences, is too extravagant to need refutation," is
an objection really of little force.

A third objection has been derived from the round and douhlea
numbers which occur in the book, and the artificial character
which the whole narrative seems to assume on that account. It
is alleged that this is wholly an unusual and improbable occur-
rence ; and that the whole statement appears as if it were a ficti-
tious narrative. Thus .Tob's possessions of oxen and camels and
sheep are expressed in round numbers ; one part of these is

X INTRODUCTION.

exactly the double of another ; and what is more remarkable still,
all these are exactly doubled on his restoration to health. He had
the same number of sons and the same number of daughters after
his trial which he had before, and the number of each was what
was esteemed among the Hebrews as a sacred number. — In regard
to this objection, we may observe, (I.) That as to the round num-
bers, this is no more than what constantly occurs in historical
statements. Nothing is more common in the enumeration of
armies, of the people of a country, or of herds and flocks, than
such statements. (2.) In regard to the fact that the possessions
of Job are said to have been exactly " doubled " after his recovery
from his calamities, it is not necessary to suppose that this was in
all respects literally true. Nothing forbids us to suppose that,
from the gifts of friends and other causes, the possessions of Job
came so near to being just twice what they were before his trials, as
to justify this general statement. In the statement itself, there is
nothing improbable. Job lived an hundred and forty years after
his trials. If he had then the same measure of prosperity which
he had before, and with the assistance of his friends to enable him
to hegm life again, there is no improbability in the supposition
that these possessions would be doubled.

These are substantially all the objections which have been
urged against the historical character of the book, and if they are
not well founded, then it follows that it should be regarded as his-
torically true that such a man actually lived, and that he passed
through the trials which are here described. How far, if at all,
the license of poetry has been employed in the composition of the
book will be considered more particularly in another part of this
Introduction, ^6. A more extended statement of these objec-
tions, and a refutation of them, may be found in the following
works: — Warburton's Divine Legation of Moses, Vol. V. p. 298,
seq., ed. 8vo. London, 1811 , Prof Lee on Job, Intro. § 11 ; and
Magee on Atonement and Sacrifice, p. 212, seq., ed, New-York,
1813. It should be said, however, that not a few writers admit
that such a man as Job lived, and that the book has an historical
basis, while they regard the work itself as in the main poetic. In
the view of such critics, the poet, in order to illustrate the great
truth which he proposed to consider, made use of a tradition
respecting the sufferings of a well known person of distinction,
and gave to the whole argument the high poetic cast which it has
now. This supposition is in accordance with the methods fre-
quently adopted by epic and tragic poets, and which is commonly
followed by writers of romance. This is the opinion of Eichhorn,
Einleitung V. § 638.

INTRODUCTION. XI

§ 2. The question where Job lived.

In chapter i. 1, it is said that Job dwelt " in the land of Uz."
The only question, then, to be settled in ascertaining where he
lived, is, if possible, to determine where this place was. From the
manner in which the record is made (" the lando{ Uz ") it would
seem probable that this was a region of country of some consider-
able extent, and also that it derived its name from some man of
that name who had settled there. The word Uz (^^3?), accord-
ing to Gesenius, means a light, sandy soil ; and if the name was
given to the country with reference to this quality of the soil, it
would be natural to fix on some region remarkable for its barren-
ness— a waste place, or a desert. Gesenius supposes that Uz was
in the northern part of Arabia Deserta — a place lying between
Palestine and the Euphrates, called by Ptolemy MaHrai (Aisitai).
This opinion is defended by Rosenmiiller (Proleg.); and is adopted
by Spanheim, Bochart, Lee, Umbreit, Noyes, and the authors of
the Universal History. Dr. Good supposes that the Uz here
referred to was in Arabia Petrsea, on the south-western coast of the
Dead Sea, and that Job and all his friends referred to in the
poem were Idumeans. Introductory Dissertation, § 1 , pp. vii-
xii. Eichhorn also supposes that the scene is laid in Idumea, and
that the author of the poem shows that he had a particular acquaint-
ance with the history, customs, and productions of Egypt. Einleit.
§ 638. Bochart (in Phaleg et Canaan), Michaelis (Spicileg.
Geog. Hebrae.), and Ugen (Jobi, Antiquis. carminis Heb. natura
et indoles, p. 91), suppose that the place of his residence was the
valley, of Guta near Damascus, regarded as the most beautiful of
the four Paradises of the Arabians. For a description of this
valley, see Eichhorn, Einleit. V. s. 134. The word ^^^'S {Uz) occurs
only in the following places in the Hebrew Bible :— Gen. x. 23,
xxii. 21,xxxvi. 28, and 1 Chron. i. 17, 42, in each of which places
it is the name of a man; and in Jer. xxv. 20, Lam. iv. 21, and in
Job i. 1, where it is applied to a country. The only circumstances
which furnish any probability in regard to the place where Job
lived, are the following.

(1.) Those which enable us to determine with some probability
where the family of Uz was settled, who not improbably gave his
name to the country — as Sheba, and Seba, and Teraa, and Gush,
and Misraim, and others, did to the countries where they settled.
In Gen. x. 23, Uz (^^3?) is mentioned as a grandson of Shem. In.
Gen. xxii. 21, an Uz (English Bible Huz) is mentioned as the son of
Nahor, brother of Abraham, undoubtedly a different person from
the one mentioned in Gen. x. 23. In Gen. xxxvi. 28, an individual
of this name is mentioned among the descendants of Esau. In I

XU INTRODUCTION.

Chron, i. 17, the name occurs among the " sons of Shem;" and in
ver. 48, of the same chapter, the same name occurs among the
descendants of Esau. So far, therefore, as the name is concerned,
it may have been derived from one of the family of Shem, or from
one who was a contemporary with Abraham, or from a somewhat
remote descendant of Esau. It will be seen in the course of this
Introduction, that there is strong improbability that the name was
wiven to the country because it was settled by either of the two
latter, as such a supposition would bring down the time when Job
lived to a later period than the circumstances recorded in his his-
tory will allow, and it is therefore probable that the name was
conferred in honor of the grandson of Shem. This fact, of itself,
will do something to determine the place. Shem lived in Asia,
and we shall find that the settlements of his descendants originally
occupied the country somewhere in the vicinity of the Euphrates.
Gen. X. 21-30. In Gen. x. 23, Uz is mentioned as one of the
sons of Aram, who gave name to the country known as Aramca,
or Syria, and from whom the Arameans descended. Their origi-
nal residence, it is supposed, was near the river Kir, or Cyrus,
whence they were brought, at some period now unknown, by a
deliverance resembling that of the children of Israel from Egypt,
and placed in the regions of Syria. See Amos ix. 7. The inhabi-
tants of Syria and Mesopotamia are always called by Moses Ara-
meus ; as they had their seat in and near Mesopotamia, it is proba-
ble that Uz was located also not far from that region. We should,
therefore, naturally be led to look for the country of Uz some-
where in that vicinity. In Gen. x. 30, it is further said of the
sons of Shem, that " their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou
goest unto Sephar, a mount of the East;" a statement w^hich cor-
responds with what is said of Job himself, that he was " the great-
est of all the men of the East " (ch. i. 3), manifestly implying that
he was an inhabitant of the country so called. Various opinions
have been entertained of the places where Mesha and Sephar
were. The opinion of Michaelis is the most probable (Spicileg.
pt. 11, p. 214), " that Mesha is the region around Passora, which
the later Syrians called Maishon, and the Greeks 3Iescne. Under
these names they included the country on the Euphrates and the
Tigris, between Silencia and the Persian Gulf Abulfeda men-
tions in this region two cities not far from Passora, called Maisan^
and Mushan. Here, then, was probably the north-eastern border
of the district inhabited by the Joktanites. The name of the oppo-
site limit, Sephar, signifies in the Chaldee shore or coast, and is
probably the western part of Yemen, along the Arabian Gulf, now
called by the Arabs Tehamah. The range of high and mountain-
ous country between these two borders, Moses calls " the Mount

INTRODUCTION. Xlfl

of the East," or eastern mountains. It is also called by the Arabs
Djebal, i. e. mountains, to the present day. See Rosenmuller's
Alterthumskunde, iii. 163, 164.

The supposition that some portion of this region is denoted by
the country where Uz settled, and is the place where Job resided,
is strengthened by the fact, that many of the persons and tribes
mentioned in the book resided in this vicinity. Thus it is pro-
bable that Eliphaz the Temanite had his residence there. See
Notes on ch. ii. 11. The Sabeans probably dwelt not very remote
from that region (Notes on ch. i. 15) ; the Chaldeans we know had
their residence there (Notes ch. i. 17), and this supposition will
agree well with what is said of the tornado that came from the
* wilderness,' or desert. See Notes on ch. i. 19. The residence
of Job was so near to the Chaldeans and the Sabeans that he could
be reached in their usual predatory excursions ; a fact that better
accords with the supposition that his residence was in some part
of Arabia Deserta, than that it was in Idumea.

(2.) This country is referred to in two places by Jeremiah,
which may serve to aid us in determining its location. Lam. iv. 21.

"Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,

"That dwellest in the land of Uz;

" The cup shall pass through unto thee ;

"Thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.'

At first view, perhaps, this passage would indicate that the land of
Uz was a part of Edom, yet it more properly indicates that the
land of Uz was not a part of that land, but that the Edomites or
Idumeans had gained possession of a country which did not origi-
nally belong to them. Thus the prophet speaks of the ' daughter
of Edom,' not as dwelling in her own country properly, but as
dwelling ' inthe land of Uz ' — in a foreign country, of which she
had somehow obtained possession. The country of Edom, pro-
perly, was Mount Seir and the vicinity, south of the Dead Sea ;
but it is known that the Edomites subsequently extended their
boundaries, and that at one period Bozrah, on the east of the
Dead Sea, in the country of Moab, was their capital. See the
Analysis of ch. xxxiv. of Isaiah, and Notes on Isa. xxxiv. 6. It is
highly probable that Jeremiah refers to the period when the Idu-
means, having secured these conquests, and made this foreign city
their capital, is represented as dwelling there. If so, according to
this passage in Lamentations, we should naturally look for the land
of Uz somewhere in the countries to which the conquests of the
Edomites extended — and these conquests were chiefly to the east
of their own land. A similar conclusion will be derived from the
other place where the name occurs in Jeremiah. It is in ch. xxv.

XiV INTRODUCTION,

2D, seq. '' And all the mingled people, a?id all the kings of the
land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and
Askelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, and
Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon," &/C. Two things
are apparent here. One is, that the country of Uz was distinct
from the land of Edom, since they are mentioned as separate
nations; the other is, that it was a country of some considerable
extent, since it is mentioned as being under several *' kings."
There is, indeed, in this reference to it no allusion to its situation ;
but it is mentioned as being in the time of Jeremiah well known.

(3.) The same thing is evident from the manner in which the
residence of Job is spoken of in ch. i. 3. He is there said to
have been the " greatest of all the men of the East." This implies
that his residence was in the land which was known familiarly as
the country of the East. It is true, indeed, that we have not yet
determined where the poem was composed, and of course do not
know precisely what the author would understand by this phrase;
but the expression has a common signification in the Scriptures,
as denoting the country east of Palestine. The land of Idumea,
however, was directly south ; and we are, therefore, naturally led
to look to some other place as the land of Uz. Comp. Notes on
ch. i. 3. The expression ' the East,' as used in the Bible, would in
no instance naturally lead us to look to Idumea.

(4.) The LXX render the word Uz in ch. i.l. hy'^ahiq, Asitls —
a word which seems to have been formed from the Hebrew y^iSJ
Utz, or Uz. Of course, their translation gives no intimation of
the place referred to. But Ptolemy (Geog. Lib. v.) speaks of a
tribe or nation in the neighborhood of Babylon, whom he calls
Avryfrai, AusitcB (or as it was perhaps written Alalrai^^ the same
word which is used by the LXX in rendering the word Uz. These
people are placed by Ptolemy in the neighborhood of the Cauche-
beni — hno /nhv rolq Kavxa^rivolq — and he speaks of them as separated
from Chaldea by a ridge of mountains. See Rosenm. Proleg. p. 27.
This location would place Job so near to the Chaldeans, that the
account of their making an excursion into his country (ch. i. 17)
would be entirely probable. — It may be added, also, that in the
same neighborhood we find a town called Sahas {2d[iaq) in Diodo-
rus Sic. Lib. iii. § 46. Prof Lee, p. 32. These circumstances
render it probable that the residence of the Patriarch was west of
Chaldea, and somev/here in the northern part of Arabia Deserta,
between Palestine, Idumea, and the Euphrates.

(5.) The monuments and memorials of Job still preserved or
referred to in the East, may be adduced as some slight evidence of
the fact that such a man as Job lived, and as an indication of the
region in which he resided. It is true that they depend on mere

INTRODUCTION. XV

tradition ; but monuments are not erected to the memory of any
who are not supposed to have had an existence, and traditions
usually have some basis in reality. Arabian writers always make
mention of Job as a real person, and his pretended grave is shown
in the East to this day. It is shown indeed in six different places :
but this is no evidence that all that is said of the existence of such
a man is fabulous, any more than the fact that seven cities con-
tended for the honor of the birth of Plomer is an evidence that
there was no such man. The most celebrated tomb of this kind is
that of the Trachonitis, towards the springs of the Jordan. It is
situated between the cities still bearing the names of Teman,
Shuah, and Naama — (Wemyss) ; though there is every reason to
believe that these names have iDeen given rather with reference to
the fact that that was supposed to be his residence, than that they
were the names of the places referred to in the book of Job. One
of these tombs was shown to Niebuhr. He says (Reisebeschreib.
i. 466), " Two or three hours east of Saada is a great mosque, in
which, according to the opinion of the Arabs who reside there,
the sufferer Job lies buried." " On the eastern limits of Arabia,
they showed me the grave of Job, close to the Euphrates, and
near the Helleh, one hour south from Babylon." It is of import-
ance to remark here only that all of these tombs are without the
limits of Idumea. Among the Arabians there are numerous tradi-
tions respecting Job, many of them indeed stories that are entirely
ridiculous, but all showing the firm belief prevalent in Arabia that
there was such a man. See Sale's Koran, vol. ii. pp. 174, 322;
Magie on Atonement and Sacrifice, pp. 366, 367 ; and D'Herbelot,
Bibli. Orient, torn. i. pp. 75,*76, 432, 438, as quoted by Magie.

(6.) The present belief of the Arabians may be referred to as
corroborating the results to which we have approximated in this
inquiry, that the residence of Job v/as not in Idumea, but was in
some part of Arabia Deserta, lying between Palestine and the
Euphrates. The Rev. Eli Smith stated to me (Nov. 1840) that
there was still a place in the Houran called by the Arabians, Vz;
and that there is a tradition among them that that was the residence
of Job. It is north-east of Bozrah. Bozrah was once the capital
of Idumea (Notes on Isai. xxxiv. 6), though it was situated without
the limits of their natural territory. If this tradition is well founded,
then Job was not probably an Idumean. There is nothing that
renders the tradition improbable, and the course of the investigation
conducts us, with a high degree of probability, to the conclusion
that this was the residence of Job. On the residence of Job and
his friends, consult also Abrahami Peritsol Itinera Mundi, in Uj;o-
lin, Thes. Sac. vii. pp. 103-106.

XVI INTRODUCTION.

§ 3. The ti7ne when Job lived.

There has been quite as much uncertainty in regard to the timt
when Job lived, as there has been in regard to the place where. — -
It should be observed here, that this question is not necessarily con-
nected with the inquiry when the book was composed, and will not
be materially affected, whether we suppose it to have been com-
posed by Job himself, by Moses, or by a later writer. Whenever
the book was composed, if at a later period than that in which the
patriarch lived, the author would naturally conceal the marks of his
own time, by referring only to such customs and opinions as pre-
vailed in the age when tlie events were supposed to have occurred.

On this question, we cannot hope to arrive at absolute certainty.
It is remarkable that neither the genealogical record of the family
oi Job nor that of his three friends is given. The only record of
the kind occurring in the book, is that of Elihu (ch. xxxii. 2), and
this is so slight as to furnish but little assistance in determining
when he lived. The only circumstances which occur in regard to
this question, are the following ; and they will serve to settle the
question with sufficient probability, as it is a question on which no
important results can depend.

(1.) The age of Job. According to this, the time when he
lived, would occur somewhere between the age of Terah,the father
of Abraham, and Jacob, or about one thousand eight hundred years
before Christ, and about six hundred years after the deluge. For
the reasons of this opinion, see the Notes on ch. xlii. 16. This es-
timate cannot pretend to entire accuracy, but it has a high degree
of probability. If this estimate be correct, he lived not far from
four hundred years before the departure of the children of Israel
from Egypt, and before the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. —
Comp. Notes on Acts vii. 6.

(2.) As a slight confirmation of this opinicn, we may refer to
the traditions in reference to the time when he lived. The account
which is appended to the Septuagint, that he was a son of Zare,
one of the sons of Esau, and the fifth in descent from Abraham,
may be seen in the Notes on ch, xlii. 16. A similar account is given
at the close of the Arabic translation of Job, so similar that the one
has every appearance of having been copied from the other, or of
their having had a common origin. *' Job dwelt in the land of Uz,
between the borders of Edom and Arabia, and was before called
Jobab. He married a foreign wife, whose name was Anun. Job
was himself a son of Zare, one of the sons of Esau ; and his moth-
er's name was Basra, and he was the sixth in descent from Abra-
ham. But of the kings who reigned in Edom, the first who reigned
over the land was Balak, the son of Beor ; and the name of his city

INTRODUCTION. XVll

was Danaba. And after him Jobab, who is called Job; and after
him the name of him who was prince of the land of Teman ; and after
him his son Barak, he who slew and put to flight Madian in the
plain of Moab, and the name of his city was Gjates. And of the
friends of Job who came to meet him, was Elifaz, of the sons of
Esau, the king of the Temanites." These traditions are worthless,
except as they show the prevalent belief when these translations
were made, that JoU lived somewhere near the time of the three
great Hebrew patriarchs.

A nearly uniform tradition also has concurred in describing this
as about the age in which he lived. The Hebrew writers generally
concur in describing him as living in the days of Isaac and Jacob.
We?ni/ss. Eusebius places him about two " ages " before Moses.
The opinions of the Eastern nations generally concur in assigning
this as the age in which he lived.

(3.) From the representations in the book itself, it is clear that
he lived before the departure from Egypt. This is evident from
the fact that there is no direct allusion either to that remarkable
event, or to the series of wonders which accompanied it, or to the
journey to the land of Canaan. This silence is unaccountable on
any other supposition than that he lived before it occurred, for two
reasons. One is, that it would have furnished the most striking
illustration occurring in history, of the interposition by God in de-
livering his friends and in destroying the wicked, and was such an
illustration as Job and his friends could not have failed to refer to,
in defence of their opinions, if it were known to them ; and the
other is, that this event was the great store-house of argument and
illustration for all the sacred writers, after it occurred. The deliv-
erance from Egyptian bondage, and the divine interposition in con-
ducting the nation to the promised land, is constantly referred to
by the sacred writers. They derive from those events their most
magnificent descriptions of the power and majesty of Jehovah. —
They refer to them as illustrating his character and government.
They appeal to them in proof that he was the friend and protector
of his people, and that he would destroy his foes. They draw
from them their most sublime and beautiful poetic images, and
are never weary with calling the attention of the people to their
obligation to serve God, on account of his merciful and wonderful
interposition. The very point of the argument in this book is one
that would be better illustrated by that deliverance, than by any
other event which ever occurred in history ; and as this must
have been known to the inhabitants of the country where Job lived,
it is inexplicable that there is no allusion to these transactions, if
they had already occurred.

It is clear, therefore, that even if the book was written at a later

XVUl INTRODUCTION.

period than the exode from Egypt, the author of the poem meant to
represent the patriarch as having lived before that event. He has
described him as one who was ignorant of it, and in such circumstan-
ces, and with such opinions, that he could not have failed to refer to
it, if he was believed to have lived after that event. It is equally pro-
bable that Job lived before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
This event occurred in the vicinity of the country where he lived,
and he could not have been ignorant of it. It was, moreover, a
case not less in point in the argument than the deliverance from
Egypt was ; and it is not conceivable that a reference to so signal
a punishment on the wicked by the direct judgment of the Al-
mighty, would have been omitted in an argument of the nature of
that in this book. It was the very point maintained by the friends
of Job, that God interposed by direct judgments to cut off the wicked;
and the world never furnished a more appropriate illustration of this
than had occurred in their own neighborhood, on the supposition
that the calamities of Job occurred afte?^ that event.

(4.) The same thing is apparent also from the absence of all allu-
sion to the Jewish rites, manners, customs, religious ceremonies,
priesthood, festivals, fasts. Sabbaths, &c. There will be occasion in
another part of this Introduction (§ 4. iii.) to inquire how far there is
in fact such a want of allusion to these things. All that is now meant
is, that there is an obvious and striking want of such allusions as we
should expect to find made by one who lived at a later period, and
who was familiar with the customs and religious rites of the Jews.
The plan of the poem, it may be admitted, indeed, did not demand
any frequent allusion to these customs and rites, and may be conceded
to be adverse to such an allusion, even if they were known; but it
is hardly conceivable that there should not have been some refer-
ence to them of more marked character than is now found. Even
admitting that Job was a foreigner, and that the author meant to
preserve this impressioii distinctly, yet his residence could not have
been far from the confines of the Jewish people ; and one who mani-
fested such decided principles of piety towards God as he did, could
not but have had a strong sympathy with that people, and could not
but have referred to their rites in an argument so intimately pertain-
ing to the government of Jehovah. The representation of Job, and
the allusions in the book, are in all respects such ■Asioould occur on
the supposition that he lived before the peculiar Jewish polity was
instituted

(5.) The same thing is manifest from another circumstance. The
religion of Job is of the same kind which we find prevailing in the
time of Abraham, and before the institution of the Jewish system.
It is a religion of sacrifices, but without any officiating priest. —
Job himself presents the offering, as the head of the family, in be-

INTRODUCTION. XIX

half of his children and his friends. Ch. i. 5, xlii. 8. There is no
priest appointed for this office ; no temple, tabernacle, or sacred
place of any kind ; no consecrated altar. Now this is just the kind
of religion which we find prevailing among the patriarchs, until the
giving of the law on Mount Sinai ; and hence it is natural to infer
that Job lived anterior to that event. Thus we find Noah building
an altar to the Lord, and offering sacrifices, Gen. viii. 20 ; Abraham
offering a sacrifice himself in the same manner. Gen. xv. 9-11,
comp. Gen xii. 1-13; and this was undoubtedly the earliest form of
religion. Sacrifices were offered to God, and the father of a family
was the officiating priest.

These circumstances combined leave little doubt as to the time
when Job lived. They concur in fixing the period as not remote
from the age of Abraham, and there is no other period of history in
which they will be found to unite. No question of great impor-
tance, however, depends on settling this question ; and these cir-
cumstances determine the time with sufficient accuracy for all that
is necessary, in an exposition of the book.

§ 4. The Author of the Booh

A question of more vital importance than those which have been
already considered, relates to the authorship of the book. As the
name of the author is nowhere mentioned, either in the book itself
or elsewhere in the Bible, it is of course impossible to arrive at ab-
solute certainty; and after all that has been written on it, it is still
and must be a point of mere conjecture. Still the question, as it is
commonly discussed, opens a wide range of inquiry, and claims an
investigation. If the name of the author cannot be discovered with
certainty, it may be possible at least to decide with some degree of
probability at what period of the world it was committed to writing,
and perhaps with a degree of probability that may be sufliciently
satisfactory, by whom it was done.

The first inquiry that meets us in the investigation of this point
is, whether the whole book was composed by the same author, or
whether the historical parts were added by a later hand. The
slightest acquaintance with the book is sufficient to show, that there
are in it two essentially different kinds of style — the poetic and pro-
saic. The body of the work, ch. iii. — xlii. 1-6, is poetry ; the other
portion, ch. i. ii. and xlii. 7-17 is prose. The genuineness of the
latter has been denied by many eminent critics, and particularly by
De Wette, who regard it as the addition of some later hand. Against
the prologue and the epilogue De Wette urges, " that the perfec-
tion of the work requires their rejection, because they solve the pro-
blem which is the subject of the discussion, by the idea of trial

XX INTRODUCTION.

and compensation ; whereas it was the design of the author to solve
the question through the idea of entire submission on the part of
man to the wisdom and power of God." See Noyes, Intro, pp.
xxi. xxii.

To this objection it may be replied, (1.) That v/e are to learn the
view of the author only by all that he has presented to us. It may
have been a part of his plan to exhibit just this view — not to
present an abstract argument, but such an argument in connection
with a real case, and to make it more vivid by showing an actual
instance of calamity falling upon a pious man, and by a state of
remarkable prosperity succeeding it. The presumption is, that the
author of the poem designed to throw all the light possible on a
very obscure and dark subject; and in order to that, a statement of
the facts which preceded and followed the argument seems indis-
pensable. (2.) Without the statement in the conclusion of the
prosperity of Job after his trials, the argument of the book is
incomplete. The main question is not solved. God is introduced
in the latter chapters, not as solving by explicit statements the
questions that had given so much perplexity, but as showing the
duty of unqualified submission. But when this is followed by the
historical statement of the return of Job to a state of prosperity,
of the long life which he afterwards enjoyed, and of the wealth
and happiness which attended him for nearly a century and a half,
the objections of his friends and his own difficulties are abun-
dantly met, and the conclusion of the whole shows that God is not
regardless of his people, but that, though they pass through severe
trials, still they are the objects of his tender care. (3.) Besides,
the prologue is necessary in order to understand the character, the
language, and the arguments of Job. In the harsh and irreverent
speeches which he sometimes makes, in his fearful imprecations
in ch. iii. on the day of his birth, and in the outbreaks of impa-
tience which we meet with, it would be impossible for us to have
the sympathy for the sufferer which the author evidently desired
we should have, or to understand the depth of his woes, unless
we had a view of his previous prosperity, and of the causes of his
trials, and unless we had the assurance that he had been an emi-
nently pious and upright man. As it is, we are prepared to sympa-
thize with a sufferer of eminent rank, a man of previous wealth and
prosperity, and one who had been brought into these circum-
stances for the very purpose of trial. We become at once
interested to know how human nature will act in such circum-
stances, nor does the interest ever flag. Under these sudden and
accumulated trials, we admire, at first, the patience and resignation
of the sufferer ; then, under the protracted and intolerable pressure,
we are not surprised to witness the outbreak of his feelings in ch. iii. ;

INTRODUCTION. Xif

and then we watch with great interest and without weariness the
manner in which he meets the ingenious arguments of his " friends'
to prove that he had always been a hypocrite, and their cutting
taunts and reproaches. It would be impossible to keep up this in-
terest in the argument unless we were prepared for it by the histo-
rical statement in the introductory chapters. It should be added,
that any supposition that these chapters are by a later hand, is en-
tirely conjectural — no authority for any such belief being furnish-
ed by the ancient versions, MSS., or traditions. These remarks,
however, do not forbid us to suppose, that, if the book were com-
posed by Job himself, the last two verses in ch. xlii., containing an
account of his age and death, were added by a later hand — as the
account of the death of Moses (Deut. xxxiv.) must be supposed
not to be the work of Moses himself, but of some later inspired
writer.

If there is, therefore, reason to believe that the whole work, sub-
stantially as we have it now, was committed to writing by the same
hand, the question arises, whether there are any circumstances by
which it can be determined with probability who the author was.
On no question, almost, pertaining to sacred criticism, have there
been so many contradictory opinions as on this. Lowth, Magee,
Prof Lee, and many others, regard it as the work of Job himself.
Lightfoot and others ascribe it to Elihu ; some of the Rabbinical
writers, as also Kennicott, Michaelis, Dathe, and Good, to Moses ;
Luther, Grotius, and Doederlin, to Solomon; Umbreit and Noyes
to some writer who lived not far from the period of the Jewish
captivity ; Rosenmiiller, Spanheim, Reimar, Stauedlin, and C. F.
Richter, suppose that it was composed by some Hebrew writer
about the time of Solomon ; Warburton regards it as the production
of Ezra; Herder (Heb. Poetry, i. 110) supposes that it was writ-
ten by some ancient Idumean, probably Job himself, and was ob-
tained by David in his conquests over Idumea. He supposes that
in the later writings of David he finds traces of his having imitated
the style of this ancient book.

It would be uninteresting and profitless to go into an examina-
tion of the reasons suggested by these respective authors for theil
various opinions. Instead of this, I propose to state the leading
considerations which have occurred in the examination of the book
itself, and of the reasons which have been suggested by these
various authors, which may enable us to form a probable opinion.
[f the investigation shall result only in adding one more conjecture
to those already formed, still it will have the merit of stating about
all that seems to be of importance in enabling us to form an opinion
m the case.

I. The fixrst circumstance that would occur to one in estimating

XXU INTRODUCTION.

the question about the authorship of the book, is the foreign cast
of the whole work — the fact that it differs from the usual style of
the Hebrew compositions. The customs, allusions, figures of
speech, and modes of thought, to one who is familiar with the
writings of the Hebrews, have a foreign air, and are such as evi-
dently show that the speakers lived in some other country than
Judea. There is, indeed, a common Oriental cast diffused over
the whole work, enough to distinguish it from all the modes of
composition in the Occidental world ; but there is, also, scarcely
less to distinguish it from the compositions which we know had
their origin among the Hebrews. The style of thought, and the
general cast of the book, is Arabian. The allusions ; the meta-
phors ; the illustrations ; the reference to historical events and to
prevailing customs, are not such as an Hebrew would make ;
certainly not, unless in the very earliest periods of history, and be-
fore the character of the nation became so formed as to distinguish
it characteristically from their brethren in the great family of the
East. Arabian deserts ; streams failing from drought ; wadys
filled in the winter and dry in the summer ; moving hordes and cara-
vans that come regularly to the same place for water ; dwellings of
tents easily plucked up and removed ; the dry and stinted shrubbery
of the desert; the roaring of lions and other wild beasts; periodical
rains; trees planted on the verge of running streams ; robbers and
plunderers that rise before day, and make their attack in the early
morning; the rights, authority, .and obligation of the Goel, or
avenger of blood ; the claims of hospitality ; the formalities of an
Arabic court of justice, are the images which are kept constantly
before the mind. Here the respect due to an Emir ; the courtesy of
manners which prevails among the more elevated ranks in the
Arabic tribes ; the profound attention which listens to the close
while one is speaking, and which never interrupts him (Herder i.
81), so remarkable among well-bred Orientals at the present day,
appear everywhere. It is true, that many of these things may find
a resemblance in the undoubted Hebrew writings — for some of
them are the common characteristics of the Oriental people — but
still, no one can doubt that they abound in this book more than in
any other in the Bible, and that, as we shall see more particularly
soon, they are unmixed as they are elsewhere, with what is indubi-
tably of Hebrew origin. In connection with this, it may be re-
marked that there are in the book an unusual number of words,
whose root is found now only in the Arabic, and which are used in
a sense not common in the Hebrew, but usual in the Arabic. Of
this all will be convinced who, in interpreting the book, avail them-
selves of the light which Gesenius has thrown on numerous words
from the Arabic or who consult the Lexicon of Castell. or who

INTRODUCTION.

examine the Commentaries of Schultens and Lee. That more im-
portance has been attached to this by many critics than facts will
warrant, no one can deny; but as little can it be denied that more
aid can be derived from the Arabic language in interpreting this
book, than in the exposition of any other part of the Bible. On
this point Gesenius makes the following remarks : *' Altogether
there is found in the book much resemblance to the Arabic, or
which can be illustrated from the Arabic ; but this is either Hebrew,
and pertains to the poetic diction, or it is at the same time
Aramaish, and was borrowed by the poet from the Aramaean lan-
guage, and appears here not as Aramaean but as Arabic. Yet
there is n(it here proportionably more than in other poetic books
and portions of books. It would be unjust to infer from this that
the author of this book had any immediate connection with Arabia,
or with Arabic literature." Geschichte der. hebr. Sprache und
Schrift, S. 33. The fact of the Arabic cast of the work is con-
ceded by Gesenius in the above extract ; the inferences in regard
to the connection of the book with Arabia and with Arabic litera-
ture which may be derived from this, is to be determined from
other circumstances. Comp. Eichhorn, Einleitung, v. S. 163, fgg.

II. A second consideration that may enable us to determine the
question respecting the authorship of the book is, the fact that
there are in it numerous undoubted allusions to events which
occurred before the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt,
the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, and the establishment of the
Jewish institutions. The point of this remark is, that if we shall
find such allusions, and also that there are no allusions to events
occurring after that period, this is a circumstance which may throw
some light on the authorship. It will at least enable us to hx, with
some degree of accuracy, the time when the book was committed
to writing. Now that there are manifest allusions to events occur-
ring before that period, the following references v/ill show. Job x.
9, " Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the
clay, and wilt thou bring me to dust again ?" Here there is an
allusion in almost so many words to the statements in Gen. ii. 7,
iii. 19, respecting the manner in which man was formed, — showing
that Job was familiar with the account of the creation of man
Job xxvii. 3, " All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of
God is in my nostrils." Ch. xxxiii. 4, " The Spirit of God hath made
me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." Ch. xxxii.
8, " But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty
giveth them understanding." Here there are undoubted allusions,
also, to the manner in which man was formed — (comp. Gen. ii. 7) —
allusions which show that ihafact must have been made known to
the speakers by tradition, since it is not such a fact as man would

^^>^1V INTilODUCTION.

readily arrive at by reasoning. The imbecility and weakness of
man also, are described in terms which imply an acquaintance with
the manner in which he was created. " How much less in them
that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which
are crushed before the moth ;" ch. iv. 19. In ch. xxxi. 33, there
is probably an allusion to the fact that Adam attempted to hide
himself from God when he had eaten the forbidden fruit. " If I
covered my transgressions as Adam." For the reasons for sup-
posing that this refers to Adam, see Notes on the verse. In ch. xxii.
15, 16, there is a manifest reference to the deluge. '' Hast thou
marked the old way which wicked men have trodden 1 which
were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown
with a flood V See the Notes on that passage. In connection
with this we may refer also to the fact that the description of the
modes of worship, and the views of religion, found in this book,
show an acquaintance with the form in which worship was offered
to God before the Exode from Egypt. They are of precisely such
a character as we find in the time of Abel, Noah, and Abraham.
These events are not such as would occur to one who was not
familiar with the historical facts recorded in the first part of the
book of Genesis. They are not such as would result from a train
of reasoning, but could only be derived from the knowledge of
those events which would be spread over the East at that early
period of the world. They demonstrate that the work was com-
posed by one who had had an opportunity to become acquainted
with what is now recorded as the Mosaic history of the creation,
and of the early events of the world.

HI. There are no such allusions to events occurring ofte?^ the
Exode from Egypt, and the establishment of the Jewish institutions.
As this is a point of great importance in determining the question
respecting the authorship of the book, and as it has been confi-
dently asserted that there «re such allusions, and as they have been
made the basis of an argument to prove that the book had an origin
as late as Solomon or even as Ezra, it is of importance to examine
this point with attention. The point is, that there are no such
allusions as a Hebrew would make after the Exode ; or in other
words, there is nothing in the book itself which would lead us to
conclude that it was composed aftei^ the departure from Egypt.
A few remarks will show the truth and the bearing of this observa*
lion.

The Hebrew writers were remarkable above most others for
allusions to the events of their own history. The dealings of God
with their nation had been so peculiar, and they were so much
imbued with the conviction that the events of their own history
furnished proofs of the divine favor towards their nation, that we

LNTRODUCTION. XXV

find in their writings a constant reference to what had happened to
them as a people. Particularly the deliverance from Egypt, the
passage of the Red Sea, the givuig of the iaw on Sinai, the journey
in the wilderness, the conquest of the land of Canaan, and the
destruction of their enemies, constituted an unfailing depository of
argument and illustration for their writers in all ages. All their
poetry written subsequent to these events, abounds with allusions to
them. Their prophets refer to them for topics of solemn appeal
to the nation ; and the remembrance of these things warm^s the
heart of piety, and animates the song of praise in the temple-
service. Under the sufferings of the ' captivity,' they are cheered
by the fact that God delivered them once from much more galling
oppression ; and in the times of freedom, their liberty is made
sweet by the memory of what their fathers suffered in the ' house
of bondage.'

Now it is as undeniable as it is remarkable, that in the book of
Job there are no such allusions to these events as a Hebrew would
make. There is no allusion to Moses ; no indisputable reference
to their bondage in Egypt, to the oppressive acts of Pharaoh, to
the destruction of his army in the Red Sea, to the rescue of the
children of Israel, to the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, to the
perils of the wilderness, to their final settlement in the promised
land. There is no reference to the tabernacle, to the ark, to the
tables of the law, to the institution and the functions of the priest-
hood, to the cities of refuge, or to the peculiar religious rites of the
Hebrew people. There is none to the theocracy, to the days of
solemn convocat4on, to the great national festivals, or to the names
of the Jewish tribes. There is none to the peculiar judicial laws
of the Hebrews, and none to the administration of justice but such
as we should find in the early patriarchal times.

These omissions are the more remarkable, as has been already
observed, because many of these events would have furnished the
most apposite illustrations of the points maintained by the different
speakers of any which had ever occurred in history. Nothing
could have been more in point, on numerous occasions in conduct-
ing the argument, than the destruction of Pharaoh, the deliverance
and protection of the people of God, the care evinced for them in
the wilderness, and the overthrow of their enemies in the promised
land. So obvious do these considerations appear, that they seem
to settle the question on one point in regard to the authorship of
the book, and to show that it could not have been composed by a
Hebrew after the Exode. For several additional arguments to
prove that the book was written before the Exode, see Eichhorn,
Eiideit. §641. As, however, notwithstanding these facts, it has
been held by some respectable critics — as Rosenmiiller, Umbrei*

XXVI INTRODUCTION.

Warburton, and others — that it was composed as late as the time
of Solomon, or even the captivity, it is important to inquire in what
way it is proposed to set this argument aside, and by what consid-
erations they propose to defend its composition at a later date than
the Exode. They are, briefly, the following.

(1.) One is, that the very design of the poem, whenever it was
composed, required that there should be no such allusion. The
scene, it is said, is laid, not in Palestine, but in a foreign country ;
the time supposed is that of the patriarchs, and before the Exode :
the characters are not Hebrew, but are Arabian or Idumean, and
the very purpose of the author required that there should be no
allusion to the peculiar history or customs of the Hebrews. The
same thing, it is said, occurred which would in the composition of
a poem or romance now in which the scene is laid in a foreign
land, or in the time of the Crusades or the Csesars, We should
expect that the characters-, the costume, the habits of that foreign
country or those distant times, would be carefully observed. " As
they [the characters and the author of the work] were Arabians
who had nothing to do with the institutions of Moses, it is plain
that a writer of genius would not have been guilty of the absurdity
of putting the sentiments of a Jew into the mouth of an Arabian,
at least so far as relates to such tangible matters as institutions,
positive laws, ceremonies, and history. The author has manifested
abundant evidence of genius and skill in the structure and execu-
tion of the work, to account for his not having given to Arabians
the obvious peculiarities of Hebrews who lived under the institu-
tions of Moses, at whatever period it may have been written. Even
if the characters of the book had been Hebrews, the argument
under consideration would not have been perfectly conclusive ; for,
from the nature of the subject, we might have expected as little in
it that was Levitical or grossly Jewish, as in the Book of Proverbs
or Ecclesiastes." Noycs, Intro, p. xxviii. This supposition
assumes that the work was written in a later age than that of Moses.
It furnishes no evidence, however, that it was so written. It can
only furnish evidence that the author had genius and skill so to
throw himself back into a distant age and into a foreign land, as
completely to conceal his own peculiarity of country or time, and
to represent characters as living and acting in the supposed coun-
try and period, without betraying his own. So far as the question
about the author, and the time when the work was composed, is
concerned, the fact here admitted, that there are no allusions to
events after the Exode, is quite as strong certainly in favor of the
supposition that it was composed before as after that event. There
are still some difficulties on the supposition that it was written by
a Hebrew of a later age, who designedly meant to give it an Arabic

INTRODUCTION. XXVU

dress, and to make no allusion to any thing in the institutions and
history of his own country that would betray its authorship. One
is, the intrinsic difficulty of doing this. It requires rare genius for an
author so to throw himself into past ages, as to leave notliing that
shall betray his own times and country. We are never so betrayed
as to imagine that Shakspeare lived in the time of Cor iol anus or
of Cagsar ; that Johnson lived in the time and the country of Rns-
selas ; or that Scott lived in the times of the Crusaders. Instances
have been found, it is admitted, where the concealment has been
sffectual, but they have been exceedingly rare. Anotlier objection
CO this view is, that such a work would have been peculiarly
impracticable for a Hebrew, who of all men would have been most
likely to betray his time and country. The cast of the poem is
highly philosophical. The argument is in many places exceedingly
abstruse. The appeal is to close and long observation ; to the
recorded experience of their ancestors ; to the observed effects of
divme judgments on the world. A Hebrew in such circumstances
would have appealed to the authority of God ; he would liave
referred to the terrible sanctions of the law rather than to cold and
abstract reasoning ; and he could hardly have refrained from
some allusion to the events of his own history that bore so palpably
on the case. It may be doubted, also, whether any Hebrew ever
had such versatility of genius and character as to divest himself
wholly of the proper costume of his country, and to appear through-
out as an Arabic Emir, and so as never in a long argument to
express any thing but such as becanie the assumed character of tlie
/breigner. It should be remembered, also, that the language whicl^i
is used in this poem is different from that which prevailed in the
time of Solomon and the captivity. It has an antique cast. It
abounds in w^ords which do not elsewhere occur, and whose roots
are now to be found only in the Arabic. It has much of the pecu-
liarities of a strongly marked dialect — and would require all the
art necessary to keep up the spirit of an ancient dialect. Yet in
the whole range of literature there are not probably half a d( zen
instances where such an expedient as this has l)een resorted to —
uhere a writer has made use of a foreign or an antique dialect for
the purpose of giving to the production of his pen an air of antiquity.
Aristophanes and the tragedians, indeed, sometimes introduce ]:er-
sons speaking the dialects of parts of Greece different from thiit in
which they had been brought up {Lcr), and the same is occasion-
ally true of Shakspeare ; but except in the case of Chattertcn,
scarcely one has occurred where the device has been continued
through a production of any considerable length. There is a moral
certainty that a Hebrew would not attempt it.

(2.) A second obj&ction to the supposition that the work was

XXVIU INTllOi3UCTION.

composed before the Exode, or argument that it was composed by
a Hebrew who lived at a much later period of the world, is derived
from the supposed allusions to the historical events connected with
the Jewish people, and to the peculiar institutions of Moses. It is
not maintained that there is any direct mention of those events or
those institutions, but that the author has undesignedly ' betrayed'
himself by the use of certain words and phrases such as no one
would employ but a Hebrew. This argument may be seen at
length in Warburton's Divine Legation of Moses, vol. v. pp. 306—
319, and a full examination of it may be seen in Peter's Critical
Dissertation on the Book of Job, pp. 22-36. All that can be done
here is to make a very brief reference to the argument. Even the
advocates for the opinion that the book was composed after the
Exode, have generally admitted that the passages referred to contri-
bute little to the support of the opinion. The passages referred to
by Warburton are the following : (1.) The allusion to the calami-
ties ivliicli the wickedness of parents brings upon their children.
" He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his
children shall fail." Ch, xvii. 5. "God layeth up his iniquity for
his children ; he rewardeth him, affd they shall know it." Ch. xxi.
19. Here it is supposed there is a reference to the principle laid down
in the Hebrew Scriptures as a part of the divine administration,
that the iniquities of the fathers should be visited upon their chil-
dren. But it is not necessary to suppose that there was any par-
ticular acquaintance with the laws of Moses, to understand this
Observation of the actual course of events would have suggested
all that is alleged in the book of Job on this point. The poverty,
disease, and disgrace which the vicious entail on their offspring in
every land, would have furnished to a careful observer all the facts
necessary to suggest this remark. The opinion that children
suffer as a consequence of the sins of wicked parents was common
all over the world. Thus in a verse of Theocritus, delivered as t,
sort of oracle from Jupiter, Idyll. 26 :

* Good things happen to children of the pious, but not to those of
the irreligious.' (2.) Allusion to the fact that idolatry is an offence
against the state, and is to he punished by the civil magistrate.
" This also [idolatry] were an iniquity to be punished by th.e
judge ; for I should have denied the God that is above." Ch, xxxi.
28. This is supposed to be such a sentiment as a Hebrew only
would have employed, as derived from his peculiar institutions,
where idolatry was an offence against the state, and was made a
capital crime. But there is not the least evidence that in the
patriarchal times, and in the country where Job lived, idolatrous

INTRODUCTION. XXIX

worship might not be regarded as a civil offence ; and whether it
were so or not, there is no reason for surprise that a man who had
a profound veneration for God, and for the honor due to his name,
such as Job had, should express the sentiment, that the worship of
the sun and moon was a heinous offence, and that pure religion
was of so much importance that a violation of its principles ought
to be regarded as a crime against society. (3.) Allusions to certain
PHRASES, such as only a Hebrew would use, and ichich would he
emplojjcd only at a later period of the loorld than the Erode. Such
phrases are referred to as the following : " He shall not see the
rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter." Ch. xx. 17.
"Receive, I pray thee, the lav/ from his mouth, ;i!id lay up his
words in thine heart." Ch xxii. 22. " O that I were as 1 was in
the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my taber-
nacle." Ch. xxix. 4. It is maintained that these are manifest allu-
sions to facts referred to in the books of Moses : that the first
refers to the common description of the Holy Land ; the second, to
the giving of the law on Sinai; and the third, to the dwelling of
the Shekinah, or visible symbol of God, on the tabernacle. To this
we may reply, that the first is such common lajiguage as was used in
the East to denote plenty or abundance, and is manifestly a pro-
verbial expression. It is used by Pindar, Ncm. eld. y; and is com-
mon in the Arabic, writers. The second is only such general lan-
guage as any one would use who should exhort another to be attentive
to the law of God, and has in it manifestly no particular allusion to
the method in which the law was given on Sinai. And the third
can be shown to have no special reference to the Shekinah or
cloud of glory as resting on the tabernacle, nor is it such language
as a Hebrew would employ in speaking of it. That cloud is no-
where in the Scripture called ' the secret of God,' and the fair mean-
ing of the phrase is, that God came into his dwelling as a friend
and counsellor, and admitted him familiarly to communion with
hira. See Notes on ch. xxix. 4. It was one of the privileges, Job
says, of his earlier life that he could regard himself as*the friend
^f God, and that he had clear f lews of his plans and purposes.
Now, those views were withheld, and he was left to darkness and
solitude. (5.) Supposed allusions to the 7niraculous history of the
Jeioish people. " Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not,
and sealeth up the stars." Ch. ix. 7. Here it is supposed there is
allusion to the miracle performed by Joshua in commanding the
sun and moon to stand still. But assuredly there is no necessity
for supposing that there is a reference to any thing miraculous.
The idea is, that God has power to cause the sun, the moon, and
the stars to shine or not, as he pleases. He can obscure them by
clouds, or he can blot them out altogether. Besides, in the account

XXX INTRODUCTION.

of the miracle performed at the command of Joshua, there is no
allusion to the stars. " He divideth the sea with his power, and
by his understanding he smiteth through the proud." Ch. xxvi. 12.
Here it is supposed there is an allusion to the passage of the Isra-
elites through the Red Sea. But the language does not
necessarily demand this interpretation, nor will it admit of it. The
word improperly rendered ' divideth,' means to awe, to cause to
cower, or tremble, and then to be calm or still, and is descriptive
of the power which God has over a tempest. See Notes on the
verse. There is not the slightest evidence that there is any allusion
to the passage through tlie Red Sea. " He taketh away the
heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to
wander in the wilderness where there is no way." Ch. xii. 24.
" Who can doubt," saysWarburton, " but that these words alluded
to the wandering of the Israelites forty years in the wilderness, as
a punishment for their cowardice and diffidence in God's prom-
ises ?" But there is no necessary reference to this. Job is speak-
ing of the control which God has over the nations. He has power
to frustrate all their counsels, and to defeat all their plans. He
can confound all the purposes of their princes, and throw their
affairs into inextricable confusion. In the original, moreover, the
word does not necessarily imply a 'wilderness' or desert. The
word is ^^P, a word used in Gen. i. 2, to denote emptiness, or
chaos, and may here refer to the confusion of their counsels and
plans ; or if it refer to a desert, the allusion is of a general char-
acter, meaning that God had power to drive the people from their
fixed habitations, and to make them wanderers on the face of the
earth. " I will show thee ; hear me ; and what I have seen will I
declare ; which wise men have told from their fathers, and have
not hid it." Ch. xv. 17, 18. " The very way," says Warburton,
*' in which Moses directs the Israelites to preserve the memory of
the miraculous works of God." And the very way, also, it may
be replied, in which all ancient history, and all the ancient wisdom
from the beginning of the world, was transmitted to posterity.
There was no other method of preserving the record of past trans-
actions, but by transmitting the memory of them from father to
son ; and this was and is, in fact, the method of doing it all over
the East. It was by no means confined to the Israelites. *' Unto
whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed amongst
THEM." Ch. XV. 19. " A circumstance," says Warburton, " agreeing
to no people whatever but to the Israelites settled in Canaan." But
there is no necessary allusion here to the Israelites. Eliphazls speak-
ing of the golden age of his country ; of the happy and pure times
when his ancestors dwelt in the land without being corrupted by
the intermingling of foreigners. He says that he will state the

INTRODUCTION. XXXI

result of tlicii- wisdom and observation in those pure and happy
days, before it could be pretended that their views were corrupted
by any foreign admixture See the Notes on the passage. These
passages are the strongest instances of what has been adduced
to show that in the book of Job there are allusions to the customs
and opinions of the Jews after the Exode from Egypt. It would
be tedious and unprofitable to go into a particular examination of
all those which are referred to by Bishop Warburton. The remark
may be made of them all, that they are of so general a character, and
that they apply so much to the prevailing manners and customs of
the East, that there is no reason for supposing that there is a spe-
cial reference to the Hebrews. The remaining passages referred
to, are ch. xxii. 6, xxiv. 7, 9, 10, xxxiii. 17, seq., xxxiv. 20, xxxvi.
7-12, and xxxvii. 13. A full examination of these may be seen in
Peter's Critical Dissertation, pp. 32-36.

(3.) A third objection to the supposition that the book was com-
posed before the time of the Exode, is derived from the use of
the word Jehovah. This word occurs several times in the histor-
ical part of the book (ch. i. 6, 7, 8, 9,12, 21, ii. 1,2, 3,4,6, xlii. 1,
10, 12), and a ^qw times in the body of the poem. The objection
is founded on what God says to Moses, Ex. vi. 3 : " And I appeared
unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God
Almighty ; but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them."
At the burning bush, when he appeared to Moses, he solemnly
assumed this name, and directed him to announce him as ' / am
that I am^ or as Jehovah. From this it is inferred that, as the
name occurs in the book of Job, that book must have been com*
posed subsequently to the time when God appeared to Moses. But
this conclusion does not follow, for the following reasons : (1.) It
might be true that God was not known to ' Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob ' by this name, and still the name might have been used by
others to designate him. (2.) The name Jehovah was actually
used before this by God himself and by others. Gen. ii. 7, 8, 9, 15,
16, 18, 19, 21, iii. 9, ct al xii. 1, 4, 7, 8, 17, xiii. 10, 13, 14, xv.
6, 18, xvi. 9, 10, 13, ct s<xpe al. If the argument from this, there-
fore, be valid to prove that the book of Job was not composed before
the Exode, it will demonstrate that the book of Genesis was also
a subsequent production. (3.) But the whole argument is based
on a misapprehension of Ex. vi. 3. The meaning of that passage,
since the name Jehovah was known to the patriarchs, must be (a)
that it was not by this name that he had promulgated his existence,
or was publicly and solemjily known. It was a name used in com-
mon with other names by them, but which he had in no special
way appropriated to himself, or to which he had affixed no special
sacredness. The name which he had himself more commonly

XXXll INTRODUCTION.

employed was another. Thus when he appeared to Abraham and
made himself known, he said, "I am the Almighty God ; walk
before rae, and be thou perfect." Gen. xvii. 1. So he appeared
to Jacob : " I am God Almighty ; be fruitful and multiply." Gen.
XXXV. 11. Coinp. Gen. xxviii. 3, xliii. 14 {b) At the bush (Ex.
iii. vi. 3), God publicly and solemnly assumed the name Jehovah.
He affixed to it a peculiar sacredness. He explained its meaning,
Ex. iii. 14. He said it was the name by which he intended pecu-
liarly to be knovv^n as the God of his people. He invested it with
a solemn sacredness, as that by which he chose ever afterwards to
be known among his people as their God. Other nations had their
divinities with different names ; the God of the children of Israel
was to be known by the peculiar and sacred name Jehovah. But
this solemn assumption of the name is by no means inconsistent
with the supposition that he might have used it before, or that it
might have been used before in the composition of the book of Job.
(4.) A fourth objection to the supposition that the book was
composed before the time of the Exode, is, that the name Satan,
which occurs in this book, was not known to the Hebrews at so
early a date, and that in fact it occurs as a proper name only at a
late period of their history. See Warburton's Divine Legation,
vol. V. 353, seq. In reply to this it may be observed, (1.) that the
doctrine of the existence of an evil spirit of the character ascribed
in this book to Satan, was early known to the Hebrews, It was
known in the time of Ahab, when, it is said, the Lord had put a
lying spirit in the mouth of the prophets, ( I Kings xxii. 22, 23,) and
the belief of such an evil spirit must have been early prevalent to
explain in any tolerable way the history of the fall. On the mean-
ing of the word, see Notes on ch. i. 6. (2.) The word Satan
early occurs in history in the sense of an adversary or accuser, and
it was natural to transfer this word to the great adversary. See
Num. xxxii. 22. In Zech. iii. 1,2, it is used in the same sense as
in Job, to denote the great adversary of God appearing before him.
See Notes on ch. i. 6. Here Satan is introduced as a being whose
name and character were well known. (3.) It is admitted by
Warburton himself (p. 355), that the notion of " an evil Demon,"
or a " Fury," was a common opinion among the heathen, even in
early ages, though he says it was not admitted among the Hebrews
until a late period of their history. But if it prevailed among
the heathen, it is possible that the same sentiment might have been
understood in Arabia, and that this might at a very early period
have been incorj)orated into the book of Job. See this whole sub-
ject examined in Peters' Critical Dissertation, pp. 80-92. I con-
fess, however, that the answers which Peters and Magee (pp. 322,
323) give to this objection, are not perfectly satisfactory ; and that

INTRODUCTION. XXXlll

he objection here urged against the composition of the book before
the Exode, is the most forcible of all those which I have seen. A
more thorough investigation of the history of the opinions respect-
mg a presiding evil being than I have had access to, seems to be
necessary to a full removal of the difficulty. The real difficulty is,
not that no such being is elsewhere referred to in the Scriptures ;
not that his existence is improbable or absurd — for the existence of
Satan is no more improbable in itself than that of Nero, Tiberius,
Richard III., Alexander VI., or Caesar Borgia, than either of whom
he is not much worse ; and not that there are no traces of him in
the early account in the Bible ; — but it is, that while in the Scrip-
tures we have, up to the time of the Exode, and indeed long after,
only obscure intimations cf his existence and character — without
any particular designation of his attributes, and without any name
being given to him, in the book of Job he appears ivith a name
apparently in common use ; with a definitely formed character ;
in the full maturity of his plans — a being evidently as well defined
as the Satan in the latest periods of the Jewish history. I confess
myself unable to account for this, but still do not perceive that there
is any impossibility in supposing that this maturity of view in regard
to the evil principle might have prevailed in the country of Job at
this early period, though no occasion occurred for its statement in
the corresponding part of the Jewish history. There may have
been such a prevalent belief among the patriarchs, though in the
brief records of their opinions and lives no occasion occurred for
a record of their belief

(5.) A fifth objection has been derived from the fact that in the
book of Job there is a strong resemblance to many passages in the
Psalms, and in the book of Proverbs, from which it is inferred that
it was composed subsequently to those bodks, Rosenmiiller, who
has particularly urged this objection, appeals to the following
instances of resemblance. Ps. cvii. 40, com. with Job xii. 21, 24;
Ps. cvii. 42, Job v. 16 ; Ps. xxii. 19, cxlvii. 8, Job v. 10 ; Ps. xxxvii.
6, cxlvii. 9, Job xxxviii. 41 ; Prov. viii. 11, Job xxviii, 12; Prov.
i. 7, Job xxviii. 8 ; Prov. xv. 11, Job xxvi. 6 ; Prov. xxvi. 6, Job
XV. 16, xxxiv. 7 ; Prov. viii. 28, 29, Job xxviii. 25 ; Prov. xviii. 28,
Job xiii. 5 ; Prov. ii. 18, xxi. 16, Job xxvi. 5 ; Prov. xxviii. 8, Job
xxvii. 16, 17 ; Prov. xvi. 18, xviii. 12, xxix. 23, Job xxii. 29 ;
Prov. viii. 26-29, xxx. 4, Job xxxviii. 4-8 ; Prov. x. 7, Job xx. 7.
It is unnecessary to go into an examination of these passages, or to
attempt to disprove their similarity. There can be no doubt of
their very strong resemblance, but still the question is fiiirly open,
which of these books was first composed, and which, if one has
borrowed from another, was the original fountain. Warburton has
himself well remarked, that " if the sacred writers must needs have

XXXIV INTRODUCTION.

borrowed trite moral sentences from one another, it may be as
fairly said that the authors of the Psalms borrowed from the book
of Job, as that the author of Job borrowed from the book of
Psalms." Works, vol. v. 320. The supposition that the book of
Job was first composed will meet the whole difficulty, so far as one was
derived from the other. It should be added, also, that many of
these sentiments consist of the common maxims that must have
prevailed among a people accustomed to close observation, and
habituated to expressing their views in a proverbial form.

I have now noticed at length all the objections which have been
urged, which seem to me to have any force, against the supposition
that the book of Job was composed before the Exode from Egypt,
and have stated the arguments which lead to the supposition that
it had so early an origin. The considerations suggested are such
as seem to me to leave no rational doubt that the work was com-
posed before the departure from Egypt. The train of thought pur-
sued, therefore, if conclusive, will remove the necessity of all furtlier
inquiry into the opinion of Luther, Grotius, and Doederlin, that
Solomon was the author ; of Umbreit and Noyes, that it was com-
posed by some unknown writer about the period of the captivity ;
of Warburton, that it was the production of Ezra ; and of Rosen-
miiller, Spanheim, Reimer, Staeudlin, and Richter, that it was
composed by some Hebrew writer about the time of Solomon. It
remains then to inquire whether there are any circumstances which
can lead us to determine with any degree of probability who was
the author. This inquiry leads us,

IV. In the fourth place, to remark that there are no sufficient
indications that the work was composed by Elihu. The opinion
that he was the author was held, among others, by Lightfoot. But,
independently of the want of any positive evidence which would
lead to such a conclusion, there are objections to this opinion which
render it in the highest degree improbable. They are found in
the argument of Elihu himself He advances, indeed, with great
modesty, but still with extraordinary pretensions to wisdom. He
lays claim to direct inspiration, and professes to be able to throw
such light on the whole of the perplexed subject as to end the de-
bate. But in the course of his addresses, he introduces but one
single idea on the point under discussion which had not been dwelt
on at length by the speakers before. That idea is, that afflictions
are designed, not to demonstrate that the sufferer was eminently
guilty, as the friends of Job held, hut that they might be intended
for the benefit of the sufferer himself, and might, therefoie, be con-
sistent with true piety. This idea he places in a variety of atti-
tudes ; illustrates it with great beauty, and enforces it with great
power on the attention of Job. Comp. Notes on ch. xxxiii. 14-30 ;

INTRODUCTION. XXXV

xxxiv. 31, 32, XXXV. 10-15. xxxvi. 7-16. But in his speeches
Elihu shows no such extraordinary ability as to lead us to suppose
that he was the author of the work, He does not appear to have
understood the design of the trials that came upon Job ; he gives
no satisfactory solution of the causes of affliction ; he abounds in
repetition ; his observation of the course of events had been evi-
dently much less profound than that of Eliphaz, and his knowledge
of nature was much less extensive than that of Job and the other
speakers ; and he was evidently as much in the dark in the great
question which is discussed throughout the book as the other
speakers were. Besides, as Prof Lee has remarked (p. 44), the
belief that Elihu wrote the book is inconsistent with the supposi-
tion that the first two chapters and the last chapter were written
by the same author who composed the body of the work. He who
wrote these chapters manifestly " saw through the whole affair,"
and understood the reasons why these trials came upon the pa-
triarch. Those reasons would have been suggested by Elihu in
his speech, if he had known them.

V. The supposition that Job himself was the author of the book,
though it may have been slightly modified by some one subsequently,
vi^ill meet all the circumstances of the case. This will agree with
its foreign cast and character ; with the use of the Arabic words
now unknown in Hebrew ; with the allusions to the nomadic habits
of the times, and to the modes of living, and to the illustrations
drawn from sandy plains and deserts ; with the statements about
the simple modes of worship prevailing, and the notice of the
sciences and the arts (see Intro, §8), and with the absence of
all allusion to the Exode, the giving of the law, and the peculiar
customs and institutions of the Hebrews. In addition to these
general considerations for supposing that Job was the author of
the work, the following suggestions may serve to show that this
opinion is attended with the highest degree of probability. (1.) Job
lived after his calamities an hundred and forty years, affording ample
leisure to make the record of his trials. (2.) The art of making
books was known in his time, and by the patriarch himself, ch. xix.
23, 24, xxxi. 35. In whatever way it was done, whether by engrav-
ing on stone or lead, or by the use of more perishable materials,
he was not ignorant of the art of making a record of thoughts to
be preserved and transmitted to future times. Understanding this
art, and having abundant leisure, it is scarcely to be conceived, that
he would have failed to make a record of what had occurred during
his own remarkable trials. (3.) The whole account was one that
would furnish important lessons to mankind, and it is hardly
probable that a man who had passed through so unusual a scene
would be willing that the recollection of it should be intrusted to

XXXVl INTRODUCTION.

uncertain tradition. The strongest arguments which human inge-
nuity could invent, had been urged on both sides of a great ques-
tion pertaining to the divine administration ; a case of a strongly
marked character had happened, similar to what is constantly
occurring in the world, in which similar perplexing and embarrass-
ing questions would arise ; God had come forth to inculcate the
duty of man in this case, and had furnished instruction that would
he invaluable in all similar instances ; and the result of the whole
trial hud been such as to furnish the strongest proof that, however
the righteous are afflicted, their sufferings are not proof that they
are deceivers or hypocrites. (4.) The record of his own imper-
fections and failures is just such as we should expect from Job, on
the supposition that he v/as the author of the bock. Nothing is
concealed. There is the most fair and full statement of his impa-
tience, his murmuring, his irreverence, and of the rebuke which
he received of the Almighty. Thus Moses, too, records his own
failings, and, throughout the Scriptures, the sacred writers never
attempt to conceal their own infirmities and faults. (5.) Job has
shown in his own speeches that he was abundantly able to com-
pose the book. In every thing he goes immeasurably beyond all
the other speakers, except God ; and he who was competent, in
trials so severe as his were, to give utterance to the lofty eloquence,
the argument, and the poetry now found in his speeches, was not
"ncompetent to make a record of them in the long period of health
^nd prosperity which he subsequently enjoyed. Every circumstance,
therefore, seems to me to render it probable that Job was tlie com-
piler, or perhaps we should rather say, the Editor of this remarka-
ble book, with the exception of the record which is made of his
own age and death. The speeches were undoubtedly made sub-
stantially as they are recorded, and the work of the author was to
collect and edit those speeches, to record his own and that of the
Almighty, and to furnish to the whole the proper liistorical notices,
that the argument might be properly understood.

VI. But one other supposition seems necessary to meet all the
questions which have been raised in regard to the origin of the
work. It is, that Moses adopted it and published it among the
Hebrews as a part of divine revelation, and intrusted it to them,
with his own writings, to be transmitted to future times. Several
circumstances contribute to render this probable. (1.) Moses
spent forty years in various pirts of Arabia, mostly in the neigh-
borhood of Horeb ; and in a country where, if such a work had
been in existence, it would be likely to be known. (2 ) His talents
and previous training at the court of Pharaoh were such as would
make him likely to look with interest on any literary document ; on
any work expressive of the customs, arts, sciences, and religion of

INTRODUCTION. XXXVll

another land ; and especially on any thing having the stamp of
uncommon genius. (3.) The work was eminently adapted to be
useful to his own countrymen, and could be employed to great
advantage in the enterprise which he undertook of delivering them
from bondage. It contained an extended examination of the great
question which could not but ccme before their minds — why the
people of God were subjected to calamities; it inculcated the
necessity of submission without murmuring, under the severest
trials; and it showed that God was the friend of his people, though
they were long afflicted, and would ultimately bestow upon them
abundant prosperity. There is every probability, therefore, that if
Moses found such a book in existence, he would have adopted it
as an important auxiliary in accomplishing the great work to which
he was called. It may be added (4.), that there is every reason to
think that Moses was not himself the author of it. This opinion
rests on such considerations as these : (a) The style is not that of
Moses. It has more allusion to proverbs, and maxims, and pre-
vailing views of science, than occur in his poetic writings. See
Lowth, Pree. Hebr. xxxii, Michaelis, Nat. et Epim. p ISO, as
quoted by Magie, p. 328, and Herder, Heb. Poetry, vol. i. pp. 108,
1C9. (6) Moses in his poetry almost invariably used the word Jeho-
vah as the name of God, rarely that of Me Almighty ('^?^, Shaddai) ;
in Job, the word Jehovah rarely occurs in the body of the poem,
some other name for the Deity being almost uniformly employed.
(c) In the book of Job there are numerous instances of words,
the roots of which are now obsolete, or which are found only in
the Arabic or Chaldee. See Prof Lee, Intro, p. 50. {d) The
allusions to Arabic customs, opinions, and manners, are not such
as would have been likely to be familiar to the mind of Moses. All
that he could have learnt of them would have been what he
acquired, when over forty years of age, in keeping the flocks of his
father-in-law Jethro ; and though it might be said with plausibility
that the forty years which he spent with him might have made him
fnmiliar with the habits of Arabia, still, in a poem of this length,
we should have expected that these would not have been the only
allusions. The most vivid and permanent impressions on the mind
are those made in youth ; and on the mind of Moses, those impres-
sions had been received in Egypt. If the work had been composed
by him we should, therefore, have expected that there would have
been frequent allusions that would have betrayed its Egyptian ori-
gin. But of these there are none, or if there are any which have
such an origin, they are such as might have been readily learned
from the common reports of travellers. But with all that pertained
lo the desert, to the keeping of flocks and herds, to the nomadic
mode of life, to the poor and needy wanderers there, to the meth-

XXXVlll INTRODUCTION.

ods of plunder and robbery, the author of the poem shows himself
to be perfectly familiar. It seems to me, therefore^ that by this
train of remarks, we are conducted to a conclusion attended with
as much certainty as can be hoped for in the nature of the case,
that the work was composed by Job himself in the period of rest
and prosperity which succeeded his trials, and came to the know-
ledge of Moses during his residence in Arabia, and was adopted
by him to represent to the Hebrews, in their trials, the duty
of submission to the will of God, and to furnish the assurance that
he would yet appear to croicn with abundant blessings his own peo-
ple, however much they might be aflictcd.

§ 5. The character and the design of the book.

It has long been a question which has excited much interest
among those who have written on this book, what is the nature ot
the poem? That the body of the work is poetic, admits of no
doubt ; and an attempt was early made to determine the department
of poetry to which it belonged. With some, it has been regarded
as a regular drama ; with others, as an epic poem ; and laborious
efforts have been made to show, that in its form, spirit, and arrange-
ment, it comes within the limits usually assigned to these kinds of
composition. But it cannot be doubted that undue importance
has been attached to this question ; nor can it be any more doubt-
ed that it cannot fairly be classed with either. It stands by itself
— a poem, framed without reference to the Grecian rules of art ;
composed and published long before the laws of composition were
reduced to order, and having, in fcict, the characteristics of neither
the epic nor the drama. There is nothing that bears an exact re-
semblance to it in Grecian, in Roman, or in modern literature. As
a composition, it has little that resembles the Iliad, the JEneid, the
Jerusalem Delivered, or the Paradise Lost. The design of the
author was not to excite interest in the fortunes of the principal
person or hero of the poem, nor to exhibit characteristic traits in
the other personages introduced, nor to conduct a regular action
to a determined and important result — as in an epic poem. As
little can it be regarded as a regular drama. In its dialogue, in-
deed, and in the tragic interest which encompasses the character
of Job, it has some resemblance to the drama; but this resemblance
is incidental to the purpose of the author, and not a part of his
main design. " If the word" [drama], says Eichhorn, Einleit.
§ 640, " be taken in its most simple meaning, as denoting a
dialogue, I would not contend with any one about the name. But
if the word be taken according to the modern acceptation, the
poem is not a drama. The drama, according to the modern con-

INTRODUCTION. XXxix

ceptions, was entirely unknown to the Orientals, and is so little in
accordance with their views and customs, that the Arabians, after
they become acquainted with the Grecian dramatic learning, would
not introduce it among themselves. Casiri, Biblioth, Arab. Escur.
T. 1, p. 85. All action is wanting in this poem ; for the prologue and
epilogue, where there is some action, do not pertain properly to the
poem." On the question, whether it has the properties of an epic
poem, the reader may consult also Eichhorn, Einleit. § 640, vol,
v., pp. 189, fgg. Indeed, this whole controversy, to what particular
department of poetry this work belongs, which has been waged for
centuries almost, has all the characteristics of a logomachy, and,
if determined, would do little in explanation of the book. Those who
are disposed to prosecute the inquiry, may find a full discussion in
Lovvth's Lectures on Hebrew Poetry, Lect. xxxii-xxxiv; Warburton's
Divine Legation, B. VL § 2 ; Herder's Heb. Poetry, Dial. IV. 5 ;
and Dr. Good's Introduction.

Instead of entering into the controversy respecting the nature
of the poem, it will be more useful to state what seems to be the
design of the book, and the jTonw which the poem actually presents.
Having this object before the mind distinctly, it will be easy for any
one to give it such a classification in the various departments of
poetry, as shall seem to him to be most accordant with truth. In
order to understand this poem, it is important to have before the
mind a clear conception of the peculiarities of the poetry of the
Hebrews. I shall, therefore, enter here into a somewhat detailed
explanation of a subject that is important to every student of
the Scriptures.

Much has been written on the subject of Hebrew poetry, and
yet there is no department of Scriptural investigation which has
been pursued with less encouraging success. Almost nothing has
been done to throw light on it since the time of Lowth, and it must
be admitted that he has left many questions almost entirely un-
settled. It is still asked, what constitutes the peculiarity of Hebrew
poetry ? Is it to be found in rhythm ? Are the various kinds of
poetry, which occur in the writings of other nations, to be found in
the compositions of the Hebrews? How does their poetry differ
from the more elevated parts of their prose writings ? And as the
one sometimes seems to slide insensibly into the other, how shall it
be known where the one ends and the other begins ?

In regard to these questions, it may be observed,

(1.) That the poetry of the Hebrews is not constituted by
rhyme. The same remark, it is obvious, might be made respect-
ing the poetry of all other people. Rhyme, or the occurrence of
similar sounds at the close of the lines, is an artifice of modern
origin, and of doubtful advantage. The reader need not be in-

xl INTRODUCTION.

formed thut it does not occur in Homer or Hesiod ; in Virgi) or
Ovid ; in the Paradise Lost, or in the Task. The highest kind of
poetry exists without rhyme, and it has been made a question
whether its use might not have been dispensed with ahogether.

It is certain that rhyme does not constitute the peculiarity of
Hebrew poetry ; for in the few cases where it occurs in the Hebrew
Scriptures, it seems to have been the result of accident rather tliaii

jesign. Something like rhyme can, indeed, be discovered in cases

ike the following :

Yehovah, al beappekft thokihheni ;

Vcdl bahhamalheka theyassereiii. Ps. vi 2.

Ma aiiosh ki thizkerennu,

Uben adam ki thiphqedhennu. Ps. viii 5

Al titlikhar bammereim,

Al tekanne b^resliaim. Prov. xxiv. 19.

Shalahh nielek vaiyattirehu,

Moshel animim vaiyephattehliehu. Ps. cv. 20.

In Isa. X. 6, the two subdivisions of the first clause of the verse
rhyme together :

Begny hh^neph ashallehhennu,
Veal am ibriithi atzavvennu.

So in Isa. liii. 6 :

KiillAnu kattzon tainu
Ish ledharko paninu.

So the two last clauses in Isa. i. 9, xliv. 3, and Ps. xlv. 8. The two
principal clauses of the verse rhyme in Prov. vi. 1, 2, Job vi. 9,
!sa. i. 29. In one instance three rhymes are to be found in a sen-
tence, as in Isa. i. 25 •

INTRODUCTION. ill

Veashibah yadhi alaik,
Veetzropli kabbor siggdik,
Veasirah kol bedhilaik.

Other instances of a similar kind may be found in the Disserta-
tion of Theodore Ebert on the rules of Hebrew measure and
rhythm, in Ugolin's Thes. Sac. Ant., torn. xxxi. pp. 20, 21. The
cases, however, which occur in the poetry of the Hebrews where
rhyme at the end of verses is apparent, are too few to lead us to
suppose that it was designed by the writers, and they are probably
only such as would occur had an effort to write in the form of
rhyme never been known.

(2.) The poetry of the Hebrews is not constituted by rhythm.
Rhythm has reference to the admeasurement of the lines of poetry
by feet and numbers, and relates to the length and shortness of the
syllables, and vo the regular succession of one after another. It is
the rule in composition which aims to reduce its various and resist-
ing elements to unity and harmony, De Wette, Einlei. pp. 51,52.
The rules in regard to this pertain to quantity, inflection, accentu-
ation, and the arrangement of the members and parts of a period.
Metre of some kind has been regarded as almost necessary to poe-
try, and the care of the ancient Greek and Latin poets in regard
to it is well known. It has been made a question of much interest
whether such laws prevail in the Hebrew poetry ; and whether, if
it ever existed, it is possible to trace it now. Carpzov, Ebert, and
Lowth, maintained that such metre or rhythm must have existed,
though it is now lost to us. Lowth (Lectures on Hebrew Poetry,
III.) maintains that " the Hebrew writings are not only animated
with the true poetic spirit, but are in some degree confined to num-
bers ;" that properties altogether peculiar to metrical composition
are found ; that the Hebrew poets use, like the Greeks, '* glosses,"
or expressions taken from foreign languages, and adopt a peculiar
form in the termination of words, so as to form a poetical dialect ;
but that as to the " quantity, rhythm, or modulation," it is hopeless
now to attempt to recover it, " the true pronunciation being now
lost." Similar views are expressed by Pfeiffer (Ueber d. Musik d.
alten Heb. p. xvi.) ; Bauer (Einleit. ins A. T. p. 358, sq.) ; Jahn
(Bibl. Arch. Th. I. B. I.) ; and Meyer, Hermen. des A. T ii. 329.
Comp. De Wette, Einleit. p. 45. Josephus affirmed that in Hebrew
poetry are to be found both hexameter and tetrameter verses. Ant.
B. II. ch. xvi. § 4 ; B. VII. ch. xii. § 3. " Philo, in several pas-
sages of his writings, maintains that Moses was acquainted with me-

Xlii INTRODUCTION.

tre." Nordheimer, Heb. Gram. vol. ii. p. 319. Gomarus, Hare,
Greve, and several others of equal celebrity, have sought to ascer-
tain the laws of metre in Hebrew poetry, but without success. If
it ever existed, it is now hopeless to attempt to recover it. There
is little evidence that we have the correct pronunciation of the
language ; the laws of metre are now unknown, and there is no
way of ascertaining them. Indeed, the evidence is not satisfactory
that any such laws ever existed. The assertions of Josephus and
Philo can be easily accounted for. They were Jews, proud of
their own language ; and supposing, justly, that the poetry of their
sacred bards was equal to any which could be produced in the
writings of the Romans or the Greeks, they were anxious to show
that it had all the properties of poetry existing among them. Yet
in their time, it was a settled rule among the Greeks and Romans
that poetry was known by its rhythm, by its accurate and careful
admeasurement of num.bers, and its harmonious and graceful flow
of measure. Nothing was more natural, therefore, than that they
should affirm that the same thing existed in the Hebrew poetry, and
that portions of it could be adduced which for beauty and grace of
measure would equal the boasted productions of Greece and
Rome. That specimens might have been produced capable of
being measured by feet, no one can disprove; and yet this may not
have been at all a leading object in the poetry of the Hebrews. It
should be remembered, that the Hebrew poetry is the oldest now
extant ; that it was composed long before the artificial rules knowi.
in Greece and Rome were in existence ; that it was designed to
express the sentiments of the earliest period of the world when
all was fresh and new ; and that we are to look for less attention
to the rules of composition than in a more cultivated and artificial
age. Indications of art there are indeed in the alphabetical poems,
and in the carefully constructed parallelisms, but it is not the art
of rhythm or metre.

(3.) It is not a characteristic of Hebrew poetry, that it is formed
according to the regular laws of composition which fetter the poets
of more modern times. There are, indeed, lyric and elegiac
poems of exquisite beauty and tenderness. But there is no regular
epic poem, for although their early history furnished finer materials
for such a poem than the occurrences celebrated in either the Iliad
or the ^neid, it seems never to have occurred to them to attempt
to mould those materials into the form of a heroic poem. The
Hebrews had no dramatic poetry. The stage was unknown among
them, and indeed was unknown among the Greeks until long after
the time when the most celebrated of the Hebrew poets lived. We
are not to look, therefore, for the characteristics of Hebrew poetrv
in the stately modes of composition which occur in other languages.

INTRODUCTION. Xlui

If it be asked, then, what are the characteristics of Hebrew
poetry ; how does it differ from prose ; how can its existence be
determined, we may reply, (I.) It consists in the nature of the sub-
jects which are treated; in the ornate and elevated character of
the style; in the sententious manner of expression ; and in certain
peculiarities in the structure of sentences and the choice of words
which are found only in poetry, which will be noticed hereafter.
(2.) It is the language of nature in the early periods of the world,
expressing itself in the form of surprise, astonishment, exulta-
tion, triumph, — the outpouring of a mind raised by excitement
above its ordinary tone of feeling. The prose writer expresses him-
self in a calm and tranquil manner when free from the influence of
strong excitement. His sedate emotions are reflected in the lan-
guage which he uses. The poet is animated. His mind is excited.
Every faculty of the soul is brought into exercise. His heart is
full ; his imagination glows ; his associations are rapid ; and the
soul pours forth its emotions in language figurative, concise, abrupt.
The boldest metaphors are sought ; the terms expressing deepest
intensity of feeling suggest themselves to the mind; or language
most beautiful, tender, and soothing, expresses the emotions of
sorrow or of love. It is in the Hebrew poetry more strikingly than
anywhere else, that we perceive the evidence of the intensity with
which objects struck the imagination in the early periods of the
world ; and nowhere do we find such examples of sublimity and
power as there. (3.) The language of poetry is distinguished from
prose by the effoi't which is made to express the ideas, and by the
form which that effort gives. Sometimes we have merely ?i glimpse
of the thought or the object, which it is left for the imagination to
fill up. Sometimes the thought is repeated, thrown into a new
form, modified, or merely echoed from the first attempt to express
it. The mind, full of the conception, labors to give utterance to
it, and in the effort there may be repetition, or a slight variation in
the words, or an attempt to show its force by striking contrast. It
is from this effort of the mind that there was originated the princi-
pal peculiarity of Hebrew poetry, exhibited iii the form o^ parallel-
ism.

This general characteristic of poetry in all languages, manifests
itself in some peculiar form in accordance with the character of a
people, or with prevailing taste, or in imitation of some distinguished
writer. Some artificial rules are adopted, in accordance with
which the poetic spirit is manifested. In one country or age this
may be by rhyme; in another, by the rhythm of measured feet or
numbers ; at one time, it may be by simple ' blank verse ;' at another,
by the smoothness and harmony of similar endings. The elegy, the
eclogue, the pastoral, the lyric, the tragic, the epic, mav all be

Xliv INTRODUCTION.

employed, and in all the poetic spirit may reign, Tlie Greeks and
Romans employed rhythm, and reduced the laws of poetic feet and
numbers to the severest rules ; rhyme has been since mvented for
similar purposes, and occupies a large phice in modern poetry;
while another form still may be found in the Hebrew, the Arabic,
and the Persian poetry. In some countries and times the artificial
rules may be few and little complicated ; in others they may be
numerous and wrought up with the highest skill of art. One mode
may be adapted to the taste of one people, and another to that ci
another ; and still the essential characteristics of poetry be found
in all. Nay, one artificial mode of poetry that is now obsolete may
be in itself as reasonable and valuable as another that is retained,
and no reason can be given except thnt the tch^tes of men change by
time, circumstances, and fashion. The parallelism of the Hebrew
may be as poetic in its character, and as rational in itself, as the
rhyme ; perhaps it may be better adapted to express the concep-
tions of the highest kind of poetry. The apparently cumbrous
versification of Spenser may have as much poetic merit as the num-
bers of Pope, and the time may come when that stanza shall be
restored to the honor which it once possessed as the medium of the
poetic sentiment.

We are not, therefore, to judge Hebrew poetry by our artificial
forms. We are not to say, because it lacks the ornament of rhyme,
or because it cannot now be reduced to the laws of poetic numbers
which are applied to Homer or Virgil, that therefore it is destitute
of the true spirit of poetry. We are to inquire whether it have the
elevated conceptions, the sublime thoughts, the grandeur of im
agery, the tenderness and sweetness, the beauty of description,
and the power to rouse the soul, which are every where recognized
as the characteristics of poetry. We are then to inquire, what
modes the ancient bards chose as the forms in which they should
embody their conceptions ; — perhaps as an incidental inquiry we
are to ask whether tliose forms are not adapted to the age and land
in wl'.ich they occur, as really as the forms now most admired may
be to our own. This inquiry has never been pursued as it should
have been, and this is not the place in which to prosecute it. The
inquiry which is proper here is, only, in what artificial forms the
spirit of poetry among the Hebrews was embodied and preserved
What rules had they according to which to record their poetic
conceptions ?

Hebrew poetry appears, then, under the following artifici.al forms.
1. In an alphahvtical arrangeinnit. We have something lik^ thi
in the acrostic, where each line begins with a letter of a certain
word. The Hebrew poets sometimes adopted a similar method, by
commencing each line with one of tlie letters of the alphabet ; oi

INTRODUCTION. xlv

where every alternate verse began with a succeeding letter ; or
where a series of verses have the same initial letters. This artifi-
cial mode of composition appears with several modifications.

(a.) Commonly each verse begins with one of the successive
letters of the alphabet, and the number of the verses is, therefore,
tlie same as the number of Hebrew letters. This occurs in Prov!
xxxi. 10-31, where the order of the letters is exactly observed, and
Lam. i. This is the case, also, in Psalm xxv., except that two
verses begin with N ; and none with n ; the 1 and p are wanting,
and two verses begin with ^ ; and at the close after the n a line
beginning with S occurs. So in Lam. ii. 4, except that S and :f
are exchanged in their places. Li like manner in Psalm xxxiv.,
which is constructed on this plan, the 1 is wanting, and the Psalm
concludes with a line beginning with S. In Ps. cxlv. the order is
exactly observed, except that 3 is wanting.

(6.) In Ps. xxxvii. there are evidences of a more artificial
structure, though it is not wholly regular. The Psalm consists of
forty verses, and it would seem that it was the original conception
that the letter D should precede each of the letters of the alphabet
in the beginning of the verse. The order of letters is the fol-
lowing: N, s,:n, 1, ^, ^, ^ fi, ^ 1,1, t, .vt, n, n, -j, 3, .,
^ =, ^ :d, :d, 5, 3, :d, D, 3, :j. b^ n, :j, ^ p, ^ , i , ^, i^
1,1. The Psalm, it will at once be seen, is quite irregular,
though the general order of the letters of the alphabet is observed!
It is now impossible to explain the cause of the irregularity.

(f.) Another form is found in Ps. cxi. cxii. In these Psalms
the half-verses are alphabetically arranged, or every half-verse or
member beghis with a new letter of the alphabet. These Psalms
are regular in their structure, and the series occurs in the exact
order of the letters of the alphabet.

(d.) In Lamentations iii. and Ps. cxix. another alphabetical form
still more artificial appears. In Lamentations three verses in suc-
cession begin with one of the letters of the alphabet, followed by
three more beginning with the succeeding letter, and so on through
the alphabet; except that, as in chs. ii. and iv., S and 25 change
places. In P&alm cxix. the same arrangement extends through
eight successive verses, dividing the whole Psalm into alphabeticlil
strophes of that number of verses.

What was the dcsig?i of this arrangement is now unknown.
Michaelis supposes that it was at first a device employed in the
funeral dirge to aid mourners ; and De Wette, that it was owing
to a vitiated taste. Lowth supposes that it was confined to those
compositions which consisted of detached maxims, or sentiments
without any express order or connection, and that the whole ar-
••angement was to assist the memory. It seems to me that it must

Xlvi INTRODUCTION.

be regarded as a mere matter of taste — and certainly of taste
quite as elevated and rational as the rhyme or the acrostic are with
moderns. That it was not adopted to aid the memory is apparent,
because it is found in very few of the poetical compositions of the
Hebrews ; while if this were the object, we should expect to find
it extended to all. For a similar reason it could not have been
designed, as Michaelis supposes, to aid in funeral dirges; for it is
found in no funeral dirges, unless the " Lamentations" be regarded
as such. Nor can the supposition of Lowth be correct, for in Ps.
XXV., xxxvii., cxi., cxii., cxlv. there is as close a connection of sen-
timent as occurs in any of the Psalms ; and indeed some of them
are quite remarkable for the continuity of thought and singleness
of design. There are many artificial modes of poetry in all lan-
guages which can be accounted for on no other principle than that
they are mere matters of taste ; and they who censure this form of
Hebrew poetry, should inquire whether the censure shculd be w^ith-
held from many forms of poetry existing in the best writings of
oiodern times.

H. An artificial form of poetry is observable in a few instances
where a complex rhythmical period or strophe occurs. The pecu-
liarity of this form is, that the same verse or sentiment is repeated
at somewhat distant intervals, or after the recurrence of about the
same number of verses. Whether this intercalary verse (Germ.
Schaltvers) was designed to aid the memory, or to be sung by a
part of a choir, or was regarded as a mere poetic ornament, cannot
now be determined. An instance occurs in Ps xlii., xliii. After
the first four verses, the following occurs : " Why art thou cast
down, O my soul ? and why art thou disquieted within me ? Hope
thou in God ; for I shall yet praise him for the help of his counte-
nance." After five verses, the same verse occurs with a slight
variation, and after four verses more it occurs again in the same
manner, showing that it was intended to close a strophe, or large
period. The same thing occurs in Ps. cvii,, where the Psalm is
divided into unequal portions by the recurrence of the same senti-
ment, " O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and
for his wonderful works to the children of men." This occurs
after vs. 1-7; vs. 9-14; vs. 16-20; and vs. 22-30. Gesenius
supposes that a part of Solomon's Song is composed in the same
manner. One instance of this occurs in Isaiah. It is in ch. ix.
8-21, X. 1-4. After each strophe, consisting of four or five verses,
the following sentiment is repeated : " For all this his anger
is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still ;" ch. ix.
12, 17, 21, x. 4. Amos i. 2-15, ii. 1-6, js constructed in the same
artificial manner.

III. A third artificial form of poetry occurs in the rhythm of

INTRODUCTION. xlvil

gradation (De Wette, Stufenrhythmus), and is found mainly in
the ' Psalms of Degrees.' It consists in this, that the thought or
expression of the preceding verse is resumed and carried forward
in the next. An instance of this occurs in Ps. cxxi. :

1. I lift up mine eyes unto the hills ;

From whence will vnj help come?

2. My help covieth from Jehovah,

The Creator of heaven and earth.

3. He suffereth not thy foot to be moved ;

Thy keeper sbimhereth not.

4. Lo ! he slumbereth not, nor sleepeth

The keeper of Israel.

5. Jehovah is thy keeper ;

Jehovah thy shade is at thy right hand •

6. The sun shall not smite thee by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7. Jkhovah preserveth thee from all evil,

Preserveth thy soul.

8. Jehovah piieserveth thy going out and thy coming in,

From this time forth and for evermore.

These ' Songs of Degrees ' are fifteen in number, extending from
Ps. cxx. to cxxxiv. The same characteristics may be found in
them all, and it is probable that they derived their name from this
artificial structure, and not because they were sung as the tribes
were going up to Jerusalem. The song of Deborah (Judges v.)
is constructed on this principle, as the following specimens will
show :

4. Lord, ichen thou teeniest out of Seir,

When thou marchedst out of the field of Edom,
The earth trembled.
And the heavens dropped,
The clouds also dropped water.

5. The mountains melted hefore the Lord,

Even that Sinai, from hefore the Lord God of Israel.
7. The inhabitants of the villages ceased^
They ceased in Israel.
Until that I Deborah arose.
That I arose a mother in Israel

20. They fought from heaven.

The stars in their courses fought against Si sera

21. The river of Kishon swept them away,
That ancient river, the river Kishon.

22. Then were the horse-hoofs broken by means of the prancing s.
The prancings of their mighty ones, etc. etc.

An instance of this artificial arrangement occurs in Isa. xxvi. 5, t'; :

The lofty city he layeth it low,

Hath laid it loio to the ground.

He hath levelled it to the dust.

The foot shall trample on it.

The feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.

Xlviii INTRODUCTION.

IV. The grand peculiarity of the Hebrew poetry, however, is
the parallelism. This form of composition, which seems to us to
be artificial in a high degree, consists in the repetition of the main
thought usually M'ith some modification. It arose from such cir-
cumstances as the following. (1.) The Hebrew poetry, in the
main, was composed at a very early period of the world, and at
that point of intellectual cultivation when the mind is in a condi-
tion to seize only certain simple and general relations of things,
and to express them strongly. (2.) The mind is supposed to be
struck with wonder and to be highly excited. The object pre-
sented is new and strange, and fills the soul with elevated and
glowing conceptions. (3.) In this state, the mind naturally ex-
presses itself in short sentences, and is apt merely to repeat the idea.
It is not in a condition to observe minute relations, but seeks to
express the thought in the most impressive and forcible manner
possible. The speaker struggles with language ; the words are
slow to adapt themselves to the thought ; and the principal idea is
expressed and dwelt upon with earnestness. The object is to ex-
press the glowing conception of the mind ; and that object is effected
by repetition, by the addition of a slight circumstance, by com-
parison, or by contrast with some other subject. Sometimes in
this effort to express the main thought, the secondary expression
will be little more than the echo of the first attempt ; sometimes it
will greatly excel it in force and brilliancy ; sometimes some striking
and beautiful conception will be appended ; sometimes, to heighten
the impression, the main idea will be expressed in contrast with
some other. In all these cases the form of short sentences will be
preserved ; though the number and modes of the efforts made to
give expression to the main thought may be greatly varied. These
circumstances gave rise to the parallelism, which became the
favorite form of poetry among the Hebrews, and which abounds so
much in every part of the Old Testament.

Various divisions have been made of the parallelism, and to a
considerable extent those divisions must be arbitrary. Lowth
(Prel. Diss, to Isaiah, and Lectures on Hebrew Poetry, xix.) re-
duces the parallelism to three kinds — synonymous, antithetic, and
synthetic. This division has been adopted by Nordheimer (Gram,
vol. ii. pp. 323, seq.), and by writers on Hebrew poetry in general
De Wette (Einleit. 56-63) has suggested four kinds of parallel-
ism, as embracing the forms which exist in the Old Testament. They
are (I.) when there is an equality of words ; (II.) when the words
are not equal : divided into (1) the siinpJe unequal parallelism, and
(2) the complex unequal parallelism, embracing («) the synono-
mous, (h) the antithetic, and (r) the synthetic ; (3) instances where
the simple member is disproportionably small, (4) cases where

INTRODUCTION. xlix

the complex member is increased to three or four prepositions ;
and (5) cases where tliere is a short clause or supplement, for the
most part in the second member. III. Parallelism when both the
members are complex ; embracing also (a) the synonymous ; (h)
the antithetic ; and (t) the syntlietic. IV. Rhythmical pai^allel-
ism, when it consists not in the thought but in the form of the pe-
riod. Under this last form of parallelism, De Wette supposes that
the Lamentations of Jeremiah should be nearly all ranged.

Without adopting precisely either of the arrangements above
referred to, the following classification will probably include all the
modes in which the parallelism occurs in the Scriptures, being
substantially the same as that of Lowth.

(1.) 27/e synonyinous parallelism. In this, the second clause is
a repetition of the first. This occurs under considerable variety in
regard to the length of the members.

(a) The repetition is nearly in the same words, or where a single
word may be changed. Thus in Isa. xv. 1, where the subject alone
is changed :

Verily, bj a nightly assault, Ar of Moab is laid waste and ruined '
Verily, by a nightly assault, Kir of Moab is laid waste and ruined

In Prov. vi. 2 the verb only is changed :

Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth ;
Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

Sometimes an idea is only partially expressed in the first clause ; in
the second this is repeated, and the sentence brought to a close, as
in Ps. xciv. 1 :

God of vengeance — Jehovah !
God of vengeance — shine forth.

In Ps. xciii. 3 the entire sentence is again repeated in a varied
form :

The floods have lifted up, O Jehovah !
The floods have lifted up their voice ;
The floods lift up their waves.

(b) In this parallelism there is often an equality in the words, at
least in their number. Thus in the song of Lamech, Gen. iv. 23 :

Adah and Zillah, hear my voice I
Wives of Lamech, receive my speech !
If 1 liave slain a man to my wounding,
Aud a young man to my hurt ;
If Cain was avenged seven times,
Then Lamech — seventy times seven.

Thus also in Job vi. 5 :

Doth the wild ass bray over his grass ?
Dotli the ox low over his fodder ?
3

1 INTRODUCTION,

Such instances occur often in ihe Scriptures, and perhaps this
may be considered the original form of the parallelism.

(c.) In the synonymous parallelism, as in other forms also, there
is often a great inequality in the number of the words. These
instances seem to have occurred where it was desirable to give nn-
phasis to the thought by the utmost brevity in one of the mem-
bers, while, perhaps, in the other member, the thought is dui li
upon or repeated. Thus in Ps. Ixviii. 33 :

Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth ;
O sing praises unto Jehovah.

So in Ps. xl. 9, where the simple member is disproportionately
small, and the inequality, therefore, still more striking :

I proclaim thy righteousness in the great congregation ;
Lo ! I refrain not my lips !
O Lord, thou knovvest !

So in Job X. 1, where the principal emphatic thought is followed
by a parallelism, stating what was proper in view of the fact of
which he complained :

I am weary of my life :

Therefore will I give loose to my complaints ;

I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

(d ) The idea is expressed in the form of a climax, where the
thought rises and becomes more emphatic. This climax some-
times is found in the verbs used. Thus in Ps. xxii. 27 :

All the ends of the world shall remember, and turn to the Lord ;
And all tlie kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee

For the sake of emphasis, the verb of the first clause is sometimes
placed at the commencement, and the corresponding one of the
second at the termination. Isa. xxxv. 3 :

Strengthen the weak hands ;

And the tottering knees m^ke firm.

A climax in thought often occurs, as in this instance, Isa. liv. 4 :

Fear not, for thou shalt not be confounded ;

And blush not, for thou shalt not be put to shame :

For thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth,

And the reproach of thy widowhood shalt thou remember no more

(e.) We meet with double parallelisms, or cases where each clause
of a verse corresponds with each clause of the member preceding,
as in Ps. xxxiii. 13, 14 .

From heaven the Lord looks down,

He sees all the sons of men ;
From his dwelling-place he looks

Upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

INTRODUCTION. ||

So in Isa. i. J5 :

When ye spread forth your hands,

'I will hide mine eyes from you ;
When ye multiply prayers,

I will not hearken.

Sometimes the second parallelism contains the cause of what is
stated in the preceding. Isa. Ixi. 10 :

I will greatly rejoice in Jhhovah ;

RIy soul shall exult in my God :
For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation ;
He hath covered me with the mantle of righteousness.

Or the first contains a comparison, and the second the thing com-
pared. Isa. Ixi. 11 :

For as the earth putteth forth her tender shoots,
And as a garden causes its seed to germinate :

So the Lord Jehovah will cause righteousness to germinate,

And praise before all the nations.

{f.) This form of parallelism — the- synonymous, admits of five
lines, and often employs them with great elegance. Thus in Isa.
i. 15, quoted above, where the fifth line is given as a reason for
what is affirmed in the second and fourth :

And when ye spread forth your hands,

I will hide mine eyes from you;
And when ye multiply prayers,

I will not hear :

Your hands are full of blood !

In the stanza of five lines the odd" line may come in between the
two distichs. Thus in Isa. xlvi. 7 :

They bear him upon the shoulder, and they carry him ;
They set him in his place, and there he standeth ;

From his place shall he not remove —
Yea, one cries unto him, and he does not answer;
Nor save him out of his trouble.

So, also, in Isa. 1. 10 :

Who is there among you that feareth Jehovah,
That obeyeth the voice of his servant,

Who walketh in darkness and seeth no light.''
Let him trust in the name of Jehovah ;
Let liim stay himself upon his God.

II. A second form of the parallelism is the antithetic, in which
the idea contained in the second clause is the converse of that in
the first. This appears also with various modifications.

(«.) It occurs in a simple form. Prov. x. 1 :

A wise son rejoiceth his father;

But a foolish son is the grief of his mother.

Ill INTRODUCTION.

(b.) A form of antithesis occurs in which the second clause is
the consequence of the first. Isa. i. 19, 20 .

If ye be willing and obedient,

Ye shall eat the good of the land;
But if ye refuse and rebel,

Ye shall be devoured with the sword.

(c.) Occasionally we meet with a double synonym, and a double
antithesis. Isa. i. 3 :

The ox knoweth his owner,

And the ass the crib of his master ;

Israel knoweth not.

My people understand not.

(d.) Sometimes there is an alternate correspondence in the antv
thesis. Ps. xliv. 2 :

Thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand,

And plantedst those ;
Didst destroy the nations.

And enlargedst those. De Wettes translation.

(e.) A double antithetical form of the parallelism is not uncom-
mon in the prophets. A very beautiful parallelism of this kind
occurs in Habakkuk iii. 17, 18 :

Although the fig-tree shall not blossom,

Neitlier shall fruit be in the vines ;
The buds of the olive shall fail.

And the fields shall yield no bread ;
The flock shall be cut off from the fold,

And there shall be no herd in the stall ;
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Comp. Isa. ix. 10 :

The bricks are fallen down.

But we will build with hewn stone;
The sycamores are cast down,

But we will replace them with cedars.

III. The third form of the parallelism is that which is denomi-
nated by Lowth, the synthetic. In this, the parallelism consists
only in the similar form of construction ; where there is " a cor-
respondence and equality between different propositions in respect
to the shape and turn of the whole sentence, such as noun an-
swering to noun, verb to verb, member to member, negative to ne-
gative, interrogative to interrogative." Lowth. The poet, instead
of merely echoing the former sentiment, or placing it in contrast,
enforces his thought by accessory ideas and modifications. A general
proposition is stated, and the sentiment is amplified or dwelt upon

INTRODUCTION. lill

in detail. Thus in Isa. i. 5-9 the description of the punishment
brought upon the Hebrews is continued through several verses, each
heightening the effect of the preceding :

The whole head is sick, the whole heart faint,

From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it;

It is wound, and bruise, and running sore ;

They have neither pressed it nor bound it up,

Neither hath it been softened with ointment.

Your country is desolate ;

Your cities are burnt with fire :

Your land — strangers devour it in your presence,

And it is desolation, like the overturning produced by enemies.

So in Isa. Iviii. 6, seq. :

Is not this the fast that I approve :

To loose the bands of wickedness,

To undo the heavy burdens,

To free the oppressed.

And to break asunder every yoke ?

Is it not to deal thy bread to tlie hungry.

And to bring the poor that are cast out, into thy house .''

When thou seest the naked that thou clothe him,

And tliat thou hide not thyself from thine own kindred ?

A beautiful specimen of this kind of amplification occurs in the
powerful passage in Job iii. 3-9, where he curses the day of his
birth, and where he amplifies the thought with which he com-
mences in the most impressive and solemn manner :

O that the day might have perished in which I was born.

And the night which said, "A male child is conceived."

Let that day be darkness,

Let not God inquire after it from on high !

Yea, let not the light shine upon it !

Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it;

Let a cloud dwell upon it,

Let whatever darkens the day terrify it !

Examples of this kind of parallelism occur in abundance in the
Scriptures, and especially in the Prophets.

Under this head may be included also a species of alternate
parallelism, a form of poetic composition not uncommon. The
following are specimens. Isa. li. 19 :

These two things are come upon thee ;

Who shall bemoan thee ?
Desolation and destruction, famine and the sword ;

How shall I comfort thee .'*

That is, taken alternately, desolation by famme, and destruction by
the sword. Cant. i. 5 :

I am black, but yet beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem;
Like the tents of Kedar, like tJie pavilions of Solomon

liv INTRODUCTION.

That IS, black as the tents of Kedar ; beautiful as tne pavilions of
Solomon.

Under this head, also, may be mentioned a form of parallelism,
of a highly artificial kind, called the introverted parallelism, where
the fourth member answers to the first, and the third to the second.
An instance of this kind occurs in the New Testament Matth.
vii. 6 :

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs,

Neither cast ye your pearls before swine ;
Lest they trample them under their feet,
And turn again and rend you.

Here it is the dogs mentioned in the first member which in the
fourth it is said would turn and rend them ; and the swine which
it is said in the third member would trample under their feet the
pearls mentioned in the second.

It may be added here, that the Arabic has no parallelism of mem-
bers, as the Hebrew has, though both the modern Arabic and Per-
sian have rhyme. Pococke, however, regards the Arabic metre as
a late invention, and probably every where rhyme was invented long
after poetry had existence in other forms.

In reading the Bible, it is of importance to understand the laws
of poetic parallelism, for it often furnishes important facilities in
interpretation. One member often expresses substantially the same
sense as its parallel, and difficult words and phrases are thus ren-
dered susceptible of easy explanation. The subject of Hebrew
poetry is confessedly one of the most difficult pertaining to the
study of the Bible, and all that is hoped from the above observations
is to furnish some principles which may be applied in the study of
the sacred Scriptures. Those who are desirous of pursuing the
investigation further may consult the following works :

Lowth's Introduction to Isaiah, and Lectures on Hebrew Poetry,
particularly Lee. xix. : The Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, by J. G.
Herder, translated by James Marsh, 2 vols. 12mo. ; De Wette,
Einleitung in die Psalmen (translated in the Biblical Repository,
vol. iii. p. 445, seq.) : Nordheimer's Hebrew Grammar, vol. ii. p.
320, seq. ; Theod. Eberti Poetica Hebraica ; Davidis Lyra, auto-
re Francisco Gomaro ; Augusti Pfeifferi Diatribe de Poesi Heb. ;
and Francis Hare on the Psalms, found in Ugolin's Thesau. Sac
Ant., tom. xxxi.

In reference to the poetry in the book of Job, the follovv'ing cha-
racteristics are discernible.

1. The leading feature of the Hebrew poetry — the parallelism —
is observed with great strictness and perfection. In no part of the
Old Testament are there more perfect specimens of this mode of
composition. The oarallels are, indeed, in general, of the more

INTRODUCTION. . 1^

simple forms — where the second member corresponds with the first
with some slight modification of the meaning ; and the instances
are very rare, if they occur at all, where the more labored and
artificial forms of the parallelism occur. Indeed, it may be doubt-
ed whether one instance of the introvn^ted parallelism occurs in the
book. This circumstance marks the early age of the poetry, and
is an additional consideration to show that the book had an early
origin.

II. Besides the parallelism, the poem bears the marks of a regular
design or plan iu its composition, and is constructed with a rigid
adherence to the purpose which was in the mind of the author. I
refer to the tripartite division of the book, and to the regularity
observed in that division. The trichotorny appears not only in
respect to the longer divisions of the book, but also in respect to
most of its minuter subdivisions. Thus we have in the grand di-
vision of the book (1.) the prologue; (2.) the poem proper: and
(3.) the epilogue, or the conclusion. The poem presents also three
leading divisions, (1.) the dispute or controversy of Job and his
three friends; (2.) the address of Eiihu, who proffers himself as
umpire ; and (3.) the address of God, who decides the controversy.
In the controversy between Job and his friends, we find the same
artificial arrangement. There are three series in the controversy,
each having the same order, and without any deviation, except that
in the last of the series, Zophar, whose turn it was to speak, fails
to respond. No poem in any language exhibits a more artificial
structure than this, and as this is the most striking feature in it, it
may be proper to exhibit it at one view.

I. The first series of the argument, ch. iv.-xiv.
(1.) With Eliphaz, ch. iv.-vii.

(a) Speeoli of Eliphaz, ch. iv., v.

(b) Reply of Job, ch. vi., vii.
(2 ) With Bildad, ch. viii.-x.

(a) Speech of Bildad, ch. viii.

(h) Reply of Job, ch. ix., x.
(3.) With Zophar, ch. xi.-xiv.

{a) Speech of Zophar, ch. xi.

(h) Reply of Job, ch. xii.-xiv.
[I The second series of the argument, ch. xv.-xxi.
(1.) With Eliphaz, ch. xv.-xvii.

(a) Speech of Eliphaz, ch.. xv.

(h) Reply of Job, ch. xvi., xvii.
(2.) With Bildad, ch. xviii., xix.

(a) Speech of Bildad, ch. xviii.

(h) Reply of Job, ch. xix. ^

(3.) With Zophar, ch. xx , xxi.

(a) Speech of Zophar, ch. XX

(h) Reply of Job, ch. xxi.

IVl INTRODUCTION.

III. The third series of the argument, ch. xxii.-xxxi.
(1.) With Eliphaz, ch. xxii.-xxiv.

(a) Speech of Eliphaz, ch. xxii.

(b) Reply of Job, ch. xxiii., xxiv.
(2.) With Bildad, ch. xxv., xxvi.

(a) Speech of Bildad, ch. xxv.

(b) Reply of Job, ch. xxvi.
(3.) With Zophar, ch. xxvii.-xxxi.

(a)**********

(&) Continuation of the reply of Job, ch. xxvii.-xxxi.

So also in the final address of Job (ch. xxvi.-xxxi,), there are thref
speeches, (a) ch. xxvi. ; (b) ch. xxvii. xxviii. ; [c) ch. xxix.-xxxi.
In the speeches of Elihu, there is evidence of a design that a regu-
lar number of speeches should be made. The plan seems to have
been, that to each of the speakers there should be assigned three
speeches. But Zophar, one of the original disputants, had failed
when his regular turn came, nnd four speeches are allowed to Eli-
hu. (1.) ch. xxxii. xxxiii. ; (2.) ch. xxxiv. ; (3.) ch. xxxv. ; and
(4.) ch. xxxvi. xxxvii. In the controversy, the dispute appears to
have been carried on through three days or sessions — perhaps with
a considerable interval between them, and the most rigid order
was observed during the debate. In like manner Jehovah is
introduced as making three addresses, (1.) ch. xxxviii. xxxix. ; (2.)
ch. xl. 1,2; and (3.) ch. xl. 6-24, ch. xli. ; and last of all the epi-
logue contains a similar subdivision. There is (1.) an account of
Job's justification ; (2.) his reconciliation with his friends ; (3.)
his restoration to prosperity, ch. xlii.

'* If," says Prof Stuart (Intro, to the Apocalypse), ** we with-
draw our attention from these obvious and palpable trichotomies,
in respect to the larger portions of the book, and direct it to the
examination of the individual speeches which are exhibited, we
shall find the like three-fold division in many of them. If we de-
scend still lower, even down to strophes, we shall there find that a
great number consist of three members."

" Thus the economy of this book exhibits a regular and all-per-
vading series of trichotomies, most of them so palpable that none
can mistake them. This seems to settle two things that have been
called in question, viz. : first, the highly artificial arrangement of
the book ; and secondly, that the prologue and the epilogue are
essential parts of the work. The great contest about the genuine-
ness of these, and also of the speech of Elihu, might have been
settled long ago, had due attention been paid to the trichotomy of
the book. It is proper to add, that notwithstanding the highly artifi-
cial arrangement of the poem, such is the skill of the writer in
the combinations, that every thing appears to proceed in a way
which is altogether easy and natural "

INTRODUCTION. IVH

Another circumstance evincing artificial arrangement is noticed
by Eichhorn, Einleitung, § 640, vol. v. pp 148-150. It is the
regular advance in the argument, or the increase (das Wachsende)
of zeal and ardor in the debaters. This is seen in the speeches
of Job, " In the beginning he will not trust himself to contend
with God (ch. ix. 11) ; then he wishes before his death to prove to
him his innocence (ch. xiii. 3) ; then he sighs after a judicial hear-
ing before God (ch. xvi. 18) ; then he affirms that it is certain that
before his death God will appear to vindicate him (ch. xix. 25) ; and
then at last he solemnly demands of him a judicial investigation."
The same is true of the other speakers. " Eliphaz, who begins
the controversy with Job, commences with mildness and gentle-
ness ; for the passion and heat with which he had heard Job speak,
one gladly forgives to a sufferer. With Bildad, who speaks next,
every thing is more severe and bitter ; the heat of Job had made
his friends too warm, and he could not speak to Job with the gen-
tleness and softness evinced by Eliphaz, And so also the manner
of the individual speakers rises in warmth and interest. Eliphaz,
the first time that he speaks, is mild and forbearing ; the second
time he is more ardent, and utters reproaches against Job, yet in a
manner somewhat covered ; but in the third speech he hides no-
thing, but charges him openly with being a hypocrite. The same
thing is observable in the speeches of Bildad. In the beginning of
his speeches he is more heated than Eliphaz, yet he condemns him
only conditionally (bedingnissweis) ; in the second he condemns
him openly ; and in the third, with cool contempt he tramples the
sufferer .under foot."

The same artificial mode of composition prevails elsewhere in
the poetry of the Hebrews. See it more fully illustrated in the
Intro, to Isaiah, §8. Thus we have seven Psalms each verse of
which begins Vv^ith a letter of the alphabet in succession'; Ps. xxv.,
xxxiv., xxxvii., cxi., cxii., cxix,, cxlv. In Ps. cxix. we have this
peculiarity, that each paragraph of it consists of eight verses, and
tliese eight verses all begin with the same letter of the alphabet.
In the book of Lamentations, four chapters out of the five are alpha-
betic compositions, while ch. iii. exhibits three verses in succession
ench one of which begins with the same letter of the alphabet.
This artificial mode of composition seems to have been one of the
earliest features of Hebrew poetry, and in no part of the Bible is it
m<^re perfect than in the book of Job.

HI. The true account of the book of Job, as a poem, is, that it
is A PUBLIC DEBATE, couductcd in a poetic form, on a very impor-
tant question pertaining to the divine government. It is not an
epic poem, where the hero is placed in a great variety of interesting
and perilous situations, and where the main object is to create an

Vm INTRODUCTION.

interest in his behalf; it is not a drama, with a regular plot to be
gradually developed, and where the dialogue is adopted to inculcate
some moral lesson, or to awaken a tragic interest It is a public dis-
cussion, with a real case in view, where the question is one ol' great
difficulty, and where there is all the interest of reality. The question
is fairly understood. The whole arrangement appears to have been
made, or tacitly fallen into from a sense of propriety. The discus-
sion is continued, evidently, on successive days, giving a full
opportunity to weigh the arguments which had been previously
advanced, and to frame a reply. The most respectful attention is
paid to what is advanced. There is no rude interruption ; no
impatience ; no disposition to correct the speaker ; no outbreak
of excited feeling even under the most provoking remarks. The
poetic form in the argument is adopted manifestly because it would
furnish the opportunity for expressing their sentiments in the most
terse, beautiful, and sententious manner, and in a way which could
be best retained in the memory, and which was most in accordance
with the genius of the age. In all countries, poetry is among the
earliest forms of composition ; and in Arabia and the East gene-
rally, it has been customary to preserve their sentiments in the terse
and somewhat proverbial form which is exhibited here.

If conjecture may be allowed in a case where it is now impossi-
ble to speak with certainty, and if we may be permitted to judge
according to what appears to have been the fact in regard to this
remarkable argument, we may imagine that the discussion assumed
somewhat of tins form : Job, as related in ch. i. and ii., was sud-
denly overwhelmed with almost unparalleled calamity. All that he
possessed was suddenly swept away ; and he was visited with a
form of disease of the most distressing nature. Of his character
hitherto there had been no doubt. His life had never given occa-
sion to suspect him of insincerity. Three of his friends, apparently
intimate with him before this — men of age, and prudence, and
large experience, came to him with a full intention of sympathizing
with him, and of suggesting to him the usual topics of consolation
under trials. The greatness of his calamity, severe beyond what
they had anticipated, struck them dumb with amazement, and they
remained a long time speechless, apparently contemplating the
keenness and the extent of his sufferings. It would be obvious
that the case would present a grave one for consideration ; that it
would be in conflict with many of the maxims which they had cher-
ished, as we learn from their expressions subsequently, about the
methods of the divine government with the pious. Here was an
individual, esteemed universally as a man of eminent piety, who
was now treated as if he were the most vile and abandoned of sin-
ners. Th.\sfact, thus in conflict with their settled views, appears

INTHOUUCTION. IJX

at first to have confounded them, and to have divested them of the
power of offering the topics of consolation which they hfad intended.
But it was not until Job made his first speech (ch. iii.), bitterly
cursing his day, indulging in the language of murmuring and
complaint, and wishing for death, that they seem to have had any
confirmed suspicion of his insincerity and hypocrisy. That speech,
in connection with his remarkable sufferings, so much at variance
with all their views of the manner in which God deals with the
righteous, seems to have satisfied them that, so far from being, as
had been supposed, a man of eminent piety, he was a man of
eminent guilt. This, therefore, opened the whole field of debate,
and suggested the great question whether the divine govern-
ment was not conducted on equal principles here ; whether a life
of piety would not be attended with corresponding prosperity, and
whether extraordinary sufferings like these were not demonstrative
of corresponding guilt. Either tacitly, or by express arrangement,
it seems to have been agreed to discuss this question. "The manner
of doing it was the best possible, and was in accordance with every
principle of urbanity, justice, and refined feeling. Eliphaz, as the
eldest, and as the most experienced and sagacious, led the way in
the argument, to be followed, in the same order, during each sit-
ting of the debate, by his two friends. Job, having no one to stand
by him, and being the one most deeply concerned in the issue, is
allowed to respond to each one of the speakers. Three successive
series of arguments in this order gave to each one the privilege of
expressing all that he desired to say on the point of debate ; thus
permitting each one of the friends of Job to speak three times, and
Job himself to make nine addresses. It seems to have been under-
stood that the debate should proceed in this order until the third
series should be completed, or until one party should cease to
speak. The debate continued in fact until Zophar, whose turn it
was, failed to speak — thus tacitly acknowledging defeat, and leaving
the whole field open, and conceding that no reply could be made to
Job. At this stage Elihu, who appears to have been an attentive
auditor, comes forward to do what the friends of Job tacitly con-
fessed that they could not do — to reply to what had been advanced
by Job. He comes modestly forward, and begs permission to state
some considerations which had been suggested to him, and which
he supposed would relieve all the difficulty. The divine interposi-
tion, unexpected by all except by Job (comp. ch. xix. 25-29, Notes),
the indications of whose appearance in the tempest overwhelm the
mind of Elihu with astonishment, and cause him abruptly to break
off" his address (Notes on ch. xxxvii. 19-24), closes the argument.
** The whole book," says Eichhorn, " may be regarded as a dia-
logue of sages respecting the government of the world, with a pro-

IX INTRODUCTION.

logue and an epilogue ; a cojiscssus of friends, as we find it among
the Arabs of later times. In Casiri, Biblioth. Arab. Escur., t. i.
p. 144, mention is made of a dialogue held by fifty-one artists, in
which each one praises his own art." Einleit. §640, vol. v. p. 142.

By this supposition, it will be allowable to suppose that the de-
bate may have occupied several days ; for there is no evidence that
it was completed at one sitting. By this supposition, also, some
difliculties which have been felt in regard to its composition may
be removed. (1.) It is not necessary to suppose that the addresses
are extemporary ; and the objection that it is incredible that men in
the heat of debate should utter such finished and sublime specunens
of poetry, is of no force. All the time requisite for composing each
successive speech, may be allowed, and it may be presumed that
each speaker came fully prepared to meet what had been advanced
by the one who went before him. (2.) The same supposition will
meet much of the difficulty which has been felt in regard to the
speeches of Job. It has been said that it is wholly incredible that
a man suffering under intolerable pain, and prostrate by long con-
tinued disease, should have uttered the sentiments which are here
ascribed to him, and been able to reply as he did to the arguments
of his opponents. To this difficulty it may be said in reply, that
there is no evidence that his disease impaired his mental powers —
for it is not always true that the faculties of the mind are enfeebled
by bodily suffering ; and further, that Job nuiy have had ample
time to mature his reflections, and to arrange them in such a man-
ner as he would wish. (3.) This supposition may throw some
light on the question of the authorship of tlie poem. According to
this view, what would be necessary for the author to do, would be to
prepare the introductory and concluding historical statements, and
to collect and arrange the speeches which had been actually made.
Those speeches would doubtless be preserved mostly in the memory,
and the work to be done would be rather that of a compiler or
editor, than that of an author. In the discussion pursued in the
poem, the great inquiry propounded relates to the equality of the
divine dealings, and this inquiry is conducted in the most inter-
esting manner conceivable. An actual case of a pious sufferer
existed, giving to the question all the interest of reality. It was
not a mere abstract inquiry, examined in a cold and unfeeling
ninnner ; but it was a case which, while it admitted of all the illus-
tration which could be derived from experience, observation, tradi-
tion, and profound reflection, had all the interest also to be derived
from the warm feelings and even excited passions which the case of
an actual sufferer is fitted to produce.

The main question discussed has respect to the distribution of
good and evil in the world. It is an inquiry whether there is a

INTRODUCTION. Ixi

righteous and equal retribution in the present life, and whether the
dealings of God here are according to the character. In the dis-
cussion of this question, the three friends of Job maintain the affirm-
ative— defending the position, that the character of an individual
can be determined from the events which occur to him under the
divine administration ; that there is a course of things which favors
»he righteous, and brings calamity on the wicked ; that where there
is extraordinary prosperity there is extraordinary virtue, and that
when overwhelming calamities come upon a man or a community,
there is proof ot extraordinary wickedness On this principle they
infer that, notwithstanding Job's professions in his prosperity, the
calamities which had come upon him were full proof that he had
been insincere, and that he must have been at heart a man of emi-
nent wickedness. In defence of this opinion, they refer to their
own observation, appeal to revelations which they say they had
had on this very point, adduce the maxims and adages which had
been accumulated by their ancestors, and boldly maintain that it
must be so under the administration of a holy God,

Job as strenuously maintains the opposite opinion, with all
the interest which can be derived from the fact that it is his own
case, and that it involves the whole question about his own charac-
ter, as well as from the fact that it is an inquiry about the general
rectitude of the dealings of God with his creatures. He appeals to
his consciousness of integrity ; shows by abstract arguments that
the opinions of his friends are not well founded ; refers to general
principles, to his own observation, and to the reports of travellers :
complains bitterly of the unkindness of his friends, and expresses
an earnest desire to carry the cause up to God to get a hearing
before him, with a confident assurance that he would at once decide
it in his favor. RtB is evidently embarrassed by tlie arguments of his
friends, and is unable to meet many thinors in their reasoninsr, and
to explain loliy it is that the righteous are thus afflicted. He main-
tains only that their afflictions do not prove that they are bad men,
and that the dealings of God with men are not a certain indication
of their true moral character. There are two considerations which
would have relieved his embarrassment, and which we would now
use in such a case, but which did not occur to him : the one is, that
the afflictions of the righteous may be disciplinary , and may be really
a proof of paternal kindness on the part of G-od ; the other, that in
the future state all the inequalities of the present life will be adjust-
ed ; that though the good may suffer much here, they will be
abundantly recompensed hereafter ; and that however prosperous
the wicked may be here, the divine dealings in the future state will
be entirely according to their character.

In readincr the book of Job. we must remember that these truths

1X11 INTRODUCTION.

were nc t then clearly revealed. We must place ourselves in the
circumstances of the speakers, and look at the argument in view
of the lio-ht which they had. We must not approach the book un-
der the feeling that they had the same knowledge of the divine
jTovernment, of the design of affliction, and of the doctrine of the
future state, which we now have under the Christian dispensation.
Children now, under the light of the gospel, may easily solve many
questions on moral subjects which entirely confounded these saga-
cious ancient sages, just as children now can answer many ques-
tions in astronomy which perplexed and embarrassed the most pro-
found Grecian and Roman philosophers.

The manner in v/hich the great question about the equality of
the divine administration is disposed of in this book, will be under-
stood by a brief analysis of the argument, and by a statement of
the points maintained by the different speakers.

I. In the commencement of the book, the reader is made
acquainted with the character and the sufferings of the principal
personage referred to. We are introduced to an inhabitant of the
land of IJz, in the northern part of Arabia. He is a prince or an
Emir in the place where he resided — honored and respected by all.
He is a man of large property, whose life liad been one of almost
unexampled prosperity. He is surrounded by a large and interest-
ino; family, who are represented as enjoying themselves in the festi-
viues usual in the place where they resided, and in a manner appro-
priate to their station and rank in life. The patriarch himself is a
man of eminent holiness. He performs with faithfulness the duties
of a pious father, evinces the deepest concern that his children
should net sin, and is declared to be a perfect and upright man — a
man whose character would bear the severest scrutiny. In this
state of things, the scene is opened in heaven. The tribunal of
the Almighty appears ; an assembling of the Sons of God occurs ;
and the celestial spirits are summoned before the Mos^t High.
Among those who came is Satan — an evil spirit — an accuser — a
dark, malignant being, who is represented as having no confidence
in hun)an integrity, and who says that he has been through the
earth to look on its affairs. Being asked respecting the character
of this good man, he insinuates that all his religion is mere selfish-
ness ; that he could not be otherwise than a devout worshipper of
God in the circumstances in which God had placed him ; but that
if his circumstances were changed, it would soon be apparent that
all his professions were false and hollow. Permission is given to
the evil spirit to make the trial, with the single reservation that the
person of the man himself was to be untouched. Animated by this
permission, Satan immediately leaves the heavenly council, and in
a single day Job is stripped of his children and all his possessionSs

1 sTli(jDiHJT10N. iXni

By the instrumentality of robbers, and whirlwinds, and storms,
every thing which he hud is swept away, and messenger after mes-
senger comes to him in rapid succession, acquainting him with
these calamities. Still the integrity of the patriarch remains. lie
isits down patient and resigned. Not a word of murmuring escapes
from his lips, not a complaining thought seems to have been in his
heart. The trial is thus far complete ; the insinuation of Satan is
siiown to be unfounded, and piety is triumphant.

The celestial session is held again, and Satan again appears.
F(;iled in his first attempt, he now insinuates that the trial had not
been fair ; that there could be no real, thorough trial of the char-
j'.cter of a man unless he v/ere made personally to suffer, and his life
ivere placed in jeopardy. If a man were himself spared to enjoy
health, it was not yet certainly known what his true character was,
fcr he might still be purely selfish. If he were made personally to
suffer, he says that, so far from maintaining his integrity, he would
curse God to his face. Permissioji- is giv.en to make this trial also,
with tlie single reservation that his life was to be spared. The evil
spirit again goes forth, selects the most painful and loathsome form
of disease consistent with the preservation of life, and Job becomes
an object of loathing and abhorrence even to his friends. Still this
trial results as the former did. The integrity of the patriarch is
preserved, and religion again triumphs. Satan is thus far foiled,
and appears no more on the scene. The best man on the earth is
made the most miserable ; the man that was most prospered in the
East is reduced to the lowest stage of poverty and wretchedness.
But his virtue has survived it all, and it is seen that fidelity to God
can be maintained in the most sudden reverses and in the deepest
distresses which the body can be made to endure short of death.

In this state of things, three of his friends, who had heard of his
c;d amities, are represented as coming by agreement to condole with
hirn. When they arrive, however, they have nothing to say. The
sufferings of their friend appear to be beyond any thing which they
liud anticipated • and the topics of consolation which they had
purposed to use are found insufficient, and they sit down in silent
astonishment. The overwhelming calamities which had come upon
■\n eminently good man seem to have confounded them, but still
they do not yet express a doubt, if they cherished a suspicion, about
his integrity. The subject is evidently one that, in their view, de-
!!iands grave reflection, and that presents some deep inquiries about
the reason of the divine dealings. They were probably overcome by
the unexpected severity of his sufferings and the depth of their
sympathetic sorrow, but they were perplexed also because it seems
to have conflicted with their cherished views of the divine govern-
ment, that such trials should come upon so good a man ; and it is

Ixiv INTRODUCTION.

possible thnt, in accordance, with these views, a suspicion may have
already been started in their minds that he was less holy than he
had been reputed to be. Still, if they had any doubts about the
integrity of their friend, his perfect patience and resignation seem
thus far to have silenced or removed them, or their courtesy kept
them from expressing them, and not knowing what to say, they sat
down in silence. It was only the bitter language <>f coii;plaint oi
the sufferer himself (ch. iii.), that led them to adopt the conciusicn
that their much venerated and esteemed friend must have been a
bad man.

II. The second, or principal part of the work, comprises the dis-
cussion between Job and jiis three friends, and extends from the
third to the thirty-first chapter. The discussion is brought on by
the bitter complaints of Job as recorded in ch. iii. Up to this time
his friends had been silent. If they had had any suspicion of his
integrity, they had not until then expressed it. His complaints
and nmrmurings, however, now gave them occasion to express their
feelings without reservation. They commence the discussion
respecting the causes of human suffering. They lu^ld the doctrine
of a strict retribution in the present life ; maintain that misery al-
ways implies corresponding guilt ; defend the opinion that it is fair
to infer what a mian's character is from the dealings of God with
him ; and do not hesitate to express the opinion that the calamities
of Job must have been brought upon him in consequence of his se-
cret wickedness. Job repels their insinuations with indignation,
and boldly asserts his innocence. He knows not why he suffers.
He is unable to explain the causes why calamities come upon gc(id
men, but he maintains that they are no certain indications of the
character of the sufferer. He regards himself as unkindly treated
by his friends ; complains that they are not disposed to do him jus-
tice ; affirms that instead of offering him the consolation which they
ought, they have taken occasion to aggravate his woes by false and
severe accusations ; and expresses a desire to carry the cause di-
rectly before God himself, assured that he would do him that justice
which was denied him by his friends. His friends are offended at
his sentiments, and undertake to vindicate the conduct of the Deity
towards him, and repeat the charges with greater asperity, and
even accuse him of particular crimes. But the more they press the
argument, the more confidently does he assert his innocence, and
the more boldly does he appeal to God to vindicate his character
His friends are finally reduced to silence, Bildad, in the last series
of the controversy, closing the discussion by a few general maxims
of great beauty, but without any pertinency to the cause, on the
greatness of God, and Zophaf, who should have replied in his turn
to Job, not saying any thing.

INTRODUCTION.

In this controversy, as has been already remarked, there are three
series, or sessions, conducted with great regularity, and carried on
in the same order. Eliphaz is the first speaker, Bildad the second,
and Zophar the third ; and Job replies to each.

'Vhef.rst series of the discussion extends from ch, iv. to ch. xiv.
Eliphaz commences it, chs. iv., v. He probably had the prece-
dence among those engaged in the discussion, both on account of
age and experience. He is more mild than either of the others,
depends more on close reasoning and observation, and is less severe
in his reflections on his friend. His speech commences with deli-
cacy and an air of candor, and is conducted with artful address.
After apologizing, in a tender manner, for speaking, he proceeds
to point out the inconsistency of a good man's repining under dis-
cipline ; says that Job had counselled and comforted many others,
and ought now to show that the same considerations were sufficient
to sustain himself, and that it is absurd that he should not bear up
under trial who had so often exhorted others to fortitude. He then
advances the position that the truly righteous are never overthrown,
and that no one who was innocent ever perished ; that the wicked
are dealt with according to their sins, and that the ways of God
must be just. This position he proceeds to establish by h vision
w4iich he says he himself had had, of a most remarkable character,
affirming the uprightness of the divine dealings, and declaring that
man could not be more just than his Maker, and that even the an-
gels were charged with folly before God. The object of this, as
applied by Eliphaz, is to meet the complaints of Job, and to show
that God must be right in his ways. He admits (ch. v.) that the
wicked may prosper for a while, but asserts that they will meet with
sudden calamity ; that their habitation will be suddenly cursed, their
children crushed in the gate, and their property carried away by
robbers. He does not expressly apply this to Job, but he leaves no
doubt that it was intended for him, and advises Job even now to
turn to God, and assures him that he may yet find happiness, and
come to the grave in an honored old age.

Job replies to Eliphaz (chs. vi., vii.), and justifies himself for
complaining. He says that there was a good reason for his com-
plaints ; expresses again the earnest wish to die ; declares that his
strength is not equal to the weight of woes laid on him ; complains
severely of his friends for having wholly disappointed his reasonable
expectations ; and compares them to the deceitful brook of the
desert, which wholly disappoints the hopes of the fiiint and thirsty
traveller. He says that he had not asked them to come and sympa-
thize with him, but that even now, if they would make use of solid
argument, he would listen to them. He then (ch. vii.) proceeds to a
more impassioned description of his suff^3rings, as being wholly

Ixvi INTilODUCTION.

beyond endurance ; expresses again the wish to die ; says that he
is not a monster, like a whale, that God should pursue him in this
manner ; and complains of God in language highly irreverent, as
having punished him far beyond his deserts, and as having set a
special mark on him, and asks with impatience why he will not let
him alone ?

Bildad is the next one to speak, ch. viii. He commences his
address in a most severe and provoking manner. He openly de-
clares that the children of Job had been cut off for their transgres-
sions, and that Job was a wicked man. If he were pure and up-
rigjit, God would at once interpose and restore his prosperity. He
exhorts him, therefore, as Eliphaz had done, to repent, and enforces
his sentiments by a reference to the opinions of the men of former
days. In accordance with those sentiments, he says that the hypo-
crite must be soon destroyed ; that however flourishing and pros-
perous he may appear, he is like succulent plants that spring up
with rapid growth and are soon withered ; and that his hope will
be like the spider's web. He does not expressly apply these max-
ims to Job, but he leaves no doubt on the mind that he intends it,
and that he fully believes that this principle will fully account for
all that he had suifered ; or in other words, that in the midst of
all his prosperity he had been a mere hypocrite.

To Bildad Job replies in his turn, ch. ix., x. He commences in
a calm manner, and shows that he is superior to the acrimony of
the assault. He acknowledges that all power is with God, and
confesses that he has a right to universal supremacy. He controls
the heavens and the earth, rules among the stars and directs them,
and nothing can stand before the exertion of his power. He
acknowledges that he is far from being perfect, and says that, even
if this were his private feeling, he would not dare to assert it before
God. He could not engage in so unequal a contest where he
should regard him as guilty, but he must yield his own views to
those of God. Still he maintains that the position of his friends
cannot be defended ; that the earth is given into the hands of the
wicked : and that so far from its being true that the dealings of
God are according to the character of men, and are a fair illustra-
tion of their character, it is a matter of fact that the wicked are
triumphant and prosperous. Then he adverts to his own sorrows ;
says that his days are fast flying away amid grief, and complains
bitterly that notwithstanding all his attempts to be innocent and
holy, God holds and treats him as if he were a guilty man.
Though he should wash himself in the purest water, yet God
throws him in the ditch, and regards and treats him as if he were
most vile. He complains that he has no fair opportunity of vindi-
cating himself before God, and that he presses him down with sor-

INTRODUCTION. Ixvh

rows so that he cannot make a defence ; but says that if he would
remove his rod from him, and give him the opportunity of a fair
trial, he would speak, and would vindicate himself. Becoming
more excited as he proceeds (ch. x.), he gives himself up to com-
plaint. He becomes desperate at the idea that God has become his
enemy and persecutor ; speaks of him as if he were seeking an
opportunity to inflict pain under some plausible pretence ; com-
plains that he had made him, as if with exquisite skill, only to
torment and destroy him ; says that he hunts him with the fierce-
ness of a lion ; expresses regret again that he had not died on the
day of his birth ; and entreats of God to let him alone only for a
little time, till he should go down to the deep shades of death.

Zophar, the third speaker, novv^ takes his place in the argument,
and replies, ch. xi. He commences, as Bildad did, with violent
invective. He regards Job as a man of words without sense ; and
reproaches him for maintaining his innocence before God. He
says that the ways of God are plain, and earnestly desires that God
would himself speak to Job, and is assured that he would then see
that it was his own iniquities that had brought these calamities upon
him. He refers, in magnificent language, to the supremacy of
God ; says that he fully understands the secret character of men ;
and, like Eliphaz and Bildad, exhorts Job to acknowledge his trans-
gressions, and assures him that if he would do this he would be
restored to prosperity and yet end his days in peace.

To Zophar Job replies, ch. xii., xiii., xiv. Yet he does not an-
swer him personally. As they had all maintained the same senti-
ments, he groups them together, and commences, in turn, with a
severe sarcasm. He says that no doubt wisdom would die with
them, and reproaches them for their cool self-complacency and their
arrogance in supposing that they were wiser than all the rest of
mankind. In return for their traditionary maxims he retorts in the
same manner, and shows them that he is as much at home in this
kind of argument as they can be. He therefore adduces a large
number of proverbial sayings (ch. xii.), of far more pertinency and
point than many of those on which they relied, all going to show
the majesty, the power, and the supremacy of God. He then (ch.
xiii.) commences a direct attack on their motives, and charges
them with maintaining their opinions with the hope of propitiating
the favor of God. To do this, he says, they had employed unsound
arguments ; had evinced partiality for God ; had been unwilling to
yield the proper weight to the considerations adduced on the other
side ; and that they had really no regard for the truth in the case,
but were ' special' and partial pleaders. He says that they ought
to be awed and to tremble in view of such a fact ; that they were
really mocking God by undertaking to defend his government by

Ixviil INTRODUCTION.

such reasons as they had adduced ; and that they had great reason
to dread his investigation of their motives, even when they were
pretending to vindicate liis government. Alike in the principles of
government which they ascribed to him, and the arguments by
which they undertook to vindicate him, they were offensive to him,
and must apprehend his displeasure. Weary with this mode of
argumentation, he then expresses the earnest wish that he might
carry his cause directly before the tribunal of God, and manage it
there, on equal terms, for himself He v/ould go before God in
this cause, confident that he would do right, and resolved to trust
him even thougli he should slay him, ch. xiii. 15. He would ask of
him only two things — one was, that he v/ould withdraw his hand
from him so that he might be able to do justice to himself in the
argument ; the other was, that he would not take advantage r^ .iS
great power to overawe him, so that he could say nothing, h'^ then
reverts to his calamities, speaks of them as overwh^'uL*ng, and
closes his address (ch. xiv.) with a most beautiful ^nd pathetic
description of the frailty and the shortness of life. He says that
God removes man from all his comforts, and hides him in the grave,
hopeless of a return to the land of the living, and that his condition
is even more sad and desolate than that of the tree that is cut down.
Thus ends ihe first series in the controversy. The second com.-
mences with ch. xv., and extends to the close of the twenty-first
chapter. It is pursued in the same order, and with the same ques-
tion in view.

Eliphaz, as before, opens the discussion, ch, xv. He accuses Job
of vehemence and vanity ; charges him with casting off fear and
restraining prayer ; says that his own mouth condemned him ,
blames him for his arrogance and presumption in speaking as if he
were the first man that had lived ; declares that with himself were
men far more advanced in life than Job was, and even older than
his father ; and asks him whether he had been admitted to the secret
counsels of the Almighty, that he spoke so confidently of the nature
of his government. He then enters into a vindication of God ;
proposes to adduce the observations of the sages of ancient times
in the purer days when there was no foreign admixture in the senti-
ments of his country ; and maintains that, in accordance with these
sentiments, and with the settled course of events, God deals with
wicked men according to their character. This opinion he illus-
trates with great beauty, and by a large number of apothegms,
showing that the Vvicked man is subject to sudden alarms ; that in
prosperity the destroyer comes suddenly upon him ; that he wan-
ders abroad for bread ; that he is made to dwell in desolate cities ;
that all his prosperity fails, like the shaking off of fruit before "t is
ripe ; and that he is like a tree dried up by heat.

INTRODUCTION. Ixix

To til is speech of Eliphaz, Job replies in his turn, ch. xvi., xvii.
He renews his complaint of the severe manner in which his friends
had treated him, and says that he could easily speak as they did, but
if his case were theirs he would meet them with consolatory words.
But now, he says, it makes no difference whether he speaks or is
silent. He finds no consolation if he speaks; he meets with no
relief though he is silent. He then adverts with new bitterness of
feeling, and in still more severe and irreverent language, to the
intensity of his sufferings, and to their manifest injustice. He com-
pares his enemies to a wild beast, gnashing his teeth and casting a
furious glance upon him : says that God had given him over to the
ungodly ; that he was at ease, when God came upon him like a
hunter, and stationed his archers around him ; that he had come
upon him like an army attacking a city, ' breach upon breach ;'
and that all this was not because he was wicked, for his
hands were pure. He then calls upon the earth to cover his blood,
and says that, after all, his only appeal is to God, and before him
his eyes poured out tears. In ch. xvii. he continues the description
of his sufferings, and says that the record of his trials will yet be a
subject of amazement to good men which they will not be able to
understand, and that all his plans are now broken off, and that he
■>mist make the grave his house and his bed in darkness.

To this address of Job, Bildad replies in his turn, ch. xviii. He
begins by repeating the accusation before made, that the argument
of Job was made up merely of vain words. He accuses him of
arrogance and a presumptuous idea of his own importance — as if
the settled course of events were to be made to give way on his
account. He says that the great laws of the divine administration
are fixed, and that it is an established maxim that the wicked shall
be punished in this life. This sentiment he proceeds to enforce by
a number of beautiful adages or proverbs. The light of the wicked
shall be put out ; the candle in his dwelling shall be extinguished ;
he shall be cast down by his own counsel ; the gin shall suddenly
take him ; the robber shall come upon him ; his strength shall
vanish ; terrors shall surprise him ; his roots shall perish ; his me-
mory shall perish ; he shall be chased out of the world ; he shall
have neither son nor nephew ; and all that come after him shall
hold him up as an example of the manner in which God deals with
the wicked. Bildad advances nothing new, but he enforces what
had been said before with great emphasis, and urges it as if it were
so settled that it could not admit of dispute. He does not, in the
description of the evils that come upon the wicked, refer to Job by
name, but he presents his argument in such a way as to leave no
doubt that he designs to have it applied to him. There is much
refinement of cruelty m this, and he doubtless rnectnt that it should
be keenly felt by Job.

IXX INTRODUCTION.

In the reply of Job to Bildad, ch. xix., he shows that he felt it
deeply. His speech on this occasion is one of the most pathetic
parts of the poem, and exhibits his character in a most beau-
tiful light. He commences, as usual, with the language of sorrow,
' ut it is with a tender and subdued spirit. He asks his friends
hr.w long the}' will continue to vex him, and crush him with
iheir remarks ; says that they had reproached him ten times, and
iiad made themselves strange to him; and declares that (/he had
erred, his error was his own, and remained with himself. He then
gives a most affecting description of his sufferings. God had over-
thrown him ; he had fenced up his way ; he had taken the crown
from his head ; he had removed all his hopes ; he had put away
from him his brethren and friends, his kinsfolk and acquaintance ;
he had made him an object of reproach to his servants ; his wife
was estranged from him, and he was derided even by children. In
most impassioned language he calls on his friends to pity him, for
the hand of God had touched him. Then follows the most noble
and sublime declaration, perhaps, to be tound in the book. Con-
scious of the importance of what he was about to say, he asks that
his words might be engraved on the eternal reck, and then pro-
fesses his unwavering confidence in God, and his firm assurance
that he would yet appear and fully vindicate his character. Though
now consumed by disease, and though this process should still go
on till all his flesh was w'asted away, yet he had the firmest convic-
tion that God v/ould appear on the earth to deliver him, and that
with renovated flesh, and in prosperity, he v/ould be permitted to
see God for himself For a view of the reasons for this interpre-
tation of this sublime passage, the reader is referred to the Notes on
the chapter.

Zophar now speaks in his turn, ch. xx. But he speaks only to
recapitulate the old argument under a new form. He maintains
the position which had been so often before advanced, that certain
and dreadful calamity must overtake the wicked. This thought he
puts into new forms, and urges it with a variety of proverbial illus-
trations and bold statements, but without much that is new in the
arorument. He undoubtedly means, like the previous speakers, to
have Job apply this to himself, though he does not expressly de-
clare it.

Job replies to Zophar, ch. xxi., and his reply closes the second
session of the controversy. He collects all his strength for the argu-
ment, as though he were resolved at once to answer all that had
been said. He calls upon them attentively to mark what he has to
urge ; and says that if they will now hear him, they may then mock
on. He then proceeds to answer their arguments by appealing to
well known and indisputable/«c^s. He says that the wicked live- -

INTRODUCTION. Ixxi

grow old — become mighty in power — are prospered in their flocks
and herds — send forth their children to the dance — and spend their
days in wealth and enjoyment, and then go down to the grave with-
out long and lingering pain. He says that they openly cast off" the
fear of God, and live in irreligion. Yet he admits that it is not
always so ; that the candle of the wicked is sometnnes put out,
and that sorrows are laid up for their children ; so that no universal
rule can be laid down in regard to the dealings of God with men
here. He alleges that in fact there is the greatest variety in the
manner in which people die — one dying in full strength, cut down
in his vigor, and another in the bitterness of his soul, having had
no pleasure. He says that the wicked are I'cscrvcd for the day of
destruction — for some future retribution, and that they will be
hereafter brought forth to wrath. By this appeal to facts, he evi-
dently supposed that the controversy would be ended. Of the facts
he had no doubt ; and these facts were of more value than all
speculations on the subject.

The third session of the discussion, like the previous ones, is
opened by Eliphaz, ch, xxii. This is the last speech which Eliphaz
makes, and roused by the argument of Job in the previous chapter,
and excited by his appeal to facts, he pours forth his soul in one
grand effort to confute the position which he had taken. There is
great art in this speech, and greater severity than he had before
used. He begins by maintaining that a man could not be profita-
ble to God, and that he could not be influenced in his dealings
with men by any claim which they had on him, or any dread which
he had of them. No rank, authority, or eminence could prevent
his dealing with them as he pleased. He then, in open and bold
terms, charges Job with great guilt; says that these calamities
could not have come upon a man unless there had been extraordi-
nary iniquity, and proceeds to argue as (/"this were so, and to state
what crimes Job must have committed to make it necessary to bring
such calamities upon him. He accuses him of cruelty, oppression,
and injustice in the performance of his duties as a magistrate ; af-
firms that he had wronged the poor, the widow, and the fatherless ;
says that he had wholly disregarded the laws of hospitality, and
that it was no wonder that in view of these things such heavy cala-
mities had come upon him. It could not be otherwise. God could
have dealt with him in no other way than this. He then appeals,
with great force, to the deluge, and says that that was a case which
demonstrated that God would deal with the wicked according to
their character and deserts. In view of these things, he again
counsels Job to acquaint himself with God, and to be at peace with
him. He assures him that if he would confess his sins and return
to God, he would yet have prosperity, and be able to lay up gold as

Ixxii INTRODUCTION.

dust ; and that if he prayed to God, he would be propitious to him.
He would become yet a counsellor to the feeble, and be exalted to
honor in the land.

Job, in his turn, replies, ch. xxiii., xxiv. He commences in a
most pnthetic and tender manner. He turns away from every hu-
man helper, and looks to God. He had looked to earthly friends in
vain ; and finding there no consolation, he expresses the most earn-
est wish that he might be able to carry his cause at once before
his Maker. Could he come before him, as he wished, he would
plead his cause there, and there he would find One who would hear
him, and would know why it was that he was thus afflicted. He
could not now explain it, yet God would do it, if he was permitted
to carry his cause before him. Yet he could not find him. He
looked in every direction for some token of his appearing, in vain.
He went east, and west, and north, and south — in the quarters of
the heavens where he usually manifested himself, but he could not
find him. Notes on vs. 9, 10. Yet he had the firmest confidence
in him, and he felt assured that when he had been tried, he would
come forth as gold. He asserts his consciousness of integrity, and
says that it had been the great aim of his life to honor and obey
God. He then proceeds, ch. xxiv., to defend his former position,
and affirms that so far from its being true that the dealings of God
were in accordance with the character of men here, it was a fact
that the wicked often lived long and in great prosperity. He refers
to large classes of the wicked — to those who remove the landmarks
— to those who take the property of the widow and the fatherless
for a pledge— to those who live by plunder — to those who oppress
the poor and turn them out without shelter — to those who cause
others to labor under hard exactions — to the murderer who rises
early to accomplish his purpose — to the adulterer, and to all who
perform deeds of darkness. He says that they often have in fact
long prosperity, though he admits that they will be ultimately cut
off"; they are only exalted for a little time, and then they will be
brought low.

These facts being undeniable, Bildad, whose turn it was to an-
swer, does not attempt to reply to them. The argument of Job
from what actually occurs had settled the question, and, so far as
the friends of Job were concerned, decided the controversy. Bil-
dad indeed, ch. xxv., attempts something like a reply ; but it consists
merely of a description of the power, wisdom, and majesty of God,
and closes with the sentiment twice before expressed concerning
the comparative impurity and insignificance of man — a reply that,
however beautiful, has no relevancy to the considerations stated by
Job. The manner in which he speaks is, in fact, a yielding of the
argument, and a retiring from the field of debate.

INTRODUCTION. IxXli'l

Job, who next speaks, in reply to Bildad, cb. xxvi., opens his
address in a strain of bitter irony. ' How had tiie feeble, the power-
less, and the ignorant [referring to himself], been strengthened,
helped, and enlightened, by this wise speech !' He inquires of
Bildad, by whose spirit he had spoken, and wlio had helped him to
utter such marvellous things ! He then proceeds himself to expa-
tiate on the topic on which Bildad had proposed to enlighten him —
the greatness and majesty of God, and does it in such a manner as
to show that his own views were far more elevated than those of
Bildad, and that he was far in advance of his professed teacher in
his knowledge of the character and government of God. In this
sublime description, he states his views of the creation ; says that
the deep, dark world of the shades is open before God ; that he
stretched out the north over the inmiense void, and hung the earth
upon nothing ; that he binds up the thick clouds, holds back the
face of his throne, compasses the waters with bounds so that they
cannot pass, divides the sea with his power ; and that by his own
hands he had formed the beautiful constellations of the heavens.
There is not to be found any where a more sublime description of
God, nor a passage of more exquisite beauty, than that with which
he closes :

Lo ! these arc but the outlines of his ways 1
And how faint the whisper which we hear of him !
[Should he speak with] the thunder of his power, who could under
stand him ?

This was the appropriate place for Zophar to reply, and Job evi-
dently paused to give him an opportunity. But he had nothing to
.say, and the argument on the part of the three friends of Job is
closed.

Finding that no one replies to him. Job proceeds, in a more calm
manner, to a full vindication of himself, ch. xxvii.-xxxi. He states
further his views about the government of God, and especially in
reference to his dealinss with a hypocrite (ch. xxvii.) ; gives a
most beautiful description of the search for wisdom, detailing many
of the discoveries of science known in his time, and saying that no
one of them could disclose it, and concluding by saying that true
wisdom could be found only in the fear of the Lord (ch. xxviii.) ;
aflectingly contrasts his present condition with his former prosper-
ity (ch. xxix., xxx.) ; maintains the integrity of his life, assert-
ing that he was free from the crimes charged on him, and impre-
cating the severest punishment if he had been guilty ; and closes
by saying, tliat if God would come forth and pronounce a just judg-
ment on him, he would take the decision and bind it on his head
us a diadem, and march forth with it in triumph. For the train of

Ixxiv INTRODUCTION.

thought in these beautiful chapters, the reader is referred to the
" Analysis " prefixed to the Notes.

III. Thus far Job is triumphant. He has silenced his ' friends,'
and gained the field as a victor. At this stage a new character is
introduced, who comes with great apparent modesty, and yet with
great pretensions. It is Elihu. He had evidently listened to tlie
debate, and feels indignant that no one of the three friends of Jt.b
dared to reply to him. He is young and comparatively inexperi-
enced, and hence he had thus far taken no part in the controversy.
But he professes to have had views communicated to him by divine
revelation, which clear up all the difficulties in the case ; and he
proceeds to state them. The single additional thought on which
he dwells so much, and which he introduces with so much pomp
and parade of language, is, that ajjiictions are for the good of the
sufferer, and that if those who are affhcted will hearken to the coun-
sel which God sends, and turn from their sins, they will find theii
afflictions to be sources of great benefit. This leading thought he
exhibits in various lights, and evidently supposes that it would be
sufficient to solve the difficulties which had been felt in the discus-
sion. It is remarkable that it had not been made more prominent
by Job and his friends ; and it is from the fact that it had not been
particularly adverted to, that leads Elihu to place it in such a vari-
ety of view. In the course of his speech there is much severe
reflection on Job for his rashness and presumption, and the general
tenor of the address is, undoubtedly, to coincide with the * friends'
of Job in their views, rather than in his. The thirty-second chap-
ter is wholly introductory, in which he expresses great modesty,
and apologizes for his speaking, by saying that he was grieved that
no one replied to Job, and that he was constrained to reply by the
pressure of important thoughts on his mind. In ch. xxxiii. he en-
ters on his argument, and says that he was inspired of God to say
what he had to communicate ; that as Job had wished to bring his
^•<^^niseHDefore God, he was now in the place of God, and that Job
eed not be overawed by one of the same nature with himself. He
then adverts to what he understood Job to maintain, that he was
innocent ; and says that in this he could not be correct, but that God
must be more righteous than man. He then adverts to the main
thought which he had to communicate, that God speaks to man in
various ways, by dreams, by visions, and by afflictions, — to withdraw
him from his purpose, and to save him from sin. If God sends a
messenger to him when he is afflicted, and he turns from his sins,
then he is merciful to him, and he is restored to more than his
former prosperity. To this fact Elihu calls the particular attention
of Job, and then pauses for a reply. As Job says nothing, Elihu in
eh. xxxiv. proposes more particularly to examine his case. He then

1;

INTRODUCTION. Jxxv

proceeds to state that Job had manifested a very improper spirit •
that he had been irreverent, and had maintained that it was of no
advantage for a man to serve God. He then advances the position
that God cannot do wickedly, and proceeds to illustrate this by
showmg that he is supreme, that it is presumptuous for man to
arraign his dealings, and that in fact his government is adminis-
tered on the principles of equity. On the basis of this, and assum-
ing that Job was a wicked man, he calls on him to confess that his
cnastisement was just, and to resolve to offend no more. In ch
XXXV. he charges Job with having in fact maintained that his own
righteousness was more than that of God. This position he pro-
ceeds to examine, and to show, which he does with great conclu-
siveness, that It IS impossible that the righteousness of man can be
m any way profitable to God. He admits that a man's riahteous-
ness might be of advantage to his fellow-man, but maintains that it
could not affect God. He then proceeds to show that the true reason
why God did not interpose when men were afflicted, and remove
their calamities, was, that they were obstinate and perverse and
that no one cried to God, who alone could give consolation. Elihu
having undertaken to vindicate the character of God, proceeds'
in ch. xxxvi., xxxvii., to state some of the great principles of his
government, and to maintain that God was right. He says that
there yet remains much to be said on the part of God. Job, as he
understood, had maintained that his government was administered
on no settled principles. In opposition to this, Elihu asserts that
God is mighty, and that his government is not to be despised ; that
he will not prosper the wicked ; that in fact he protects the rioht-
eous and vindicates the cause of the poor ; and that his eye is cni^all.
If they are in affliction, and bound in fetters, it is in order that they
may see their iniquity and be brought to true repentance. The
hypocrites, he says, heap up v/rath,^but the poor and afflicted ;.re
delivered, and Job would have found favor if he had been truly
penitent. Elihu counsels him to beware lest his refusal to submit
to God, and to exercise true repentance, should be the rccasicn of
his entire destruction. To illustrate his views, and to show the
necessity of submission, he closes his speech (ch. xxxvi. 26-;]8,
ch. xxxvii.) with a sublime description of the greatness of Gvd
especially as manifested in the storm and tempest. There is in (his
description every indication that a storm was actually rising and
that a fearful tempest was gathering. In the midst of this rppn'ach-
mg tempest, the address of Elihu is broken off, and the Almighty
appears and closes the debate. See the Analysis to ch. xxxvii.

IV. The fourth part of the bock consists of the address of the
Almighty, ch. xxxviii.-xli. This sublime disccurse is represented
as made from the nndst of the tempest rr whirlwind ^hich Elihu

Ix'xvi INTRODUCTION.

describes as gathering. In this address, the principal object of God
is to assert his own greatness and majesty, and the duty of profound
submission under the dispensations of his government. The gene-
ral thought is, that he is Lord of heaven and earth ; that all things
have been made by him, and that he has a right to control them ;
and that in the works of his hands he had given so much evidence
of his wisdom, power, and goodness, that men ought to have unwa-
vering confidence in him. He appeals to his works, and shows
that in fact man could explain little, and that the most familiar ob-
jects were beyond his comprehension. It was, therefore, to be
expected that in his moral government there would be much that
would be above the power of man to explain. In this speech, the
creation of the world is first brought before the mind in language
which has never been equalled. Then the Almighty refers to
various things in the universe that surpass the wisdom of man to
comprehend'^them, or his power to make them — to the laws of light ;
the depths of the ocean ; the formation of the snow, the rain, the
dew, the ice, the frost; the changes of the seasons, the clouds, the
lightnings ; and the instincts of animals. He then makes a particu-
la'r appeal to some of the more remarkable inhabitants of the air,
the forests, and the waters, as illustrating his power. He refers to
the gestation of the mountain-goats ; to the wild ass, to the rhino-
ceros, to the ostrich, and to the horse, ch. xxxix. The ground of
the argument in this part of the address, is, that he had adapted
every kind of animals to the mode of life which it was to lead ;
that he had given cunning where cunning was necessary, and
where unnecessary, that he had withheld it ; that he had endowed
with rapidity of foot or wing where such qualities were needful ;
and that where power was demanded, he had conferred it. In
reference to all these classes of creatures, there were peculiar laws
by which they were governed ; and all, in their several spheres,
showed the wisdom and skill of their Creator. Job is subdued
and awed by these exhibitions, and confesses that he is vile, ch. xl.
8-5. To produce, however, a more overpowering impression of
his greatness and majesty, and to secure a deeper prostration before
him, the Almighty proceeds to a particular description of two of the
more remarkalile animals which he had made — the behemoth, or
hippopotamus, and the leviathan, or crocodile ; and with this de-
scription, the address of the Almighty closes.

The general impression designed to be secured by this whole
address is that of awe, reverence, and submission. The general
thought is, that God is supreme ; that he has a right to rule ; that
there are numberless things in his government which are inexpli-
cable by human wisdom ; that it is presumptuous in man to sit in
judgment on his doings ; and that at all times man should bow

INTRODUCTION. IxXvil

before him with profound adoration. It is remarkable that in this
address, the Almighty does not refer to the main point in the contro-
versy. He does not attempt to vindicate his government from the
charges brought against it of inequality, nor does he refer to the
future state as a place where all these apparent inequalities will be
ydjusted. For the reasons of this, see the remarks at the close of
the Notes on ch. xli.

V. The whole work now closes, ch. xlii. Job is humbled and
penitent. His confession is accepted, and his general course is
approved. His three friends are reprimanded for the severity of
their judgment on him, and he is directed to make intercession for
tiiem. His calamities are at an end, and he is restored to double
his former prosperity, and is permitted to live long in affluence and
respectability. Thus God shows himself in the end to be the
friend of the righteous ; and thus the great object of the trial is
fully secured — by showing that there is true virtue which is not
based on selfishness, and that real piety will bear any trial to which
it can be subjected.

^ 6. The canonical authority and inspiration of the hook.

The canonical authority of the book of Job, or its right to a place
anwng the inspired Scriptures, is determined on the same principles
as the other books of the Old Testament. The argument for this
rests mainly on two considerations, which have generally been
regarded as satisfactory by those who hold to the divine mission of
the Saviour and the inspiration of the apostles. The first is, that it
was found in the canon of the Jew^ish Scriptures to which the
Saviour gave his sanction as inspired ; and the otlier is, that it is
quoted in the New Testament as of divine authority.

In regard to the first of these, there can be- no doubt that it
existed among the books which were regarded by the Hebrews as
inspired. It has the same evidence of this kind which exists in
favor of any one of the books of the Old Testament. There is the
■ime authority — arising from the opinions of the Jews, from the
existence of manuscripts, from the ancient versions, from repeated
quotations, from extended commentaries, and from the enumera-
tion of the books of divine inspiration in the ancient catalogues —
in favor of the book of Job, which there is for any one of the books
of Moses or of the prophets. The argument from this source is
thus stated by Wemyss : "The Seventy translated it about 2"/ 7
years before Christ ; Josephus places it among the historica writ-
ings ; Philo the Jew quotes a fragment of it ; part of it is evidently
imitated by Baruch ; the subject of it is mentioned in the book of
Tobit ; and in the catalogue of Jewish canonical books, drawn up

IxXviii INTRODUCTION.

by Melito, Bishop of Sardis, near the end of the second century, we
find it inserted after the Song of Songs, on the supposition that it
was written by Solomon. Jerome introduced it into the Vulgate, and
almost all the Fathers of the Church have quoted it. The Talmud
places it after the book of Psalms, so that Jews and Christians
equally acknowledge its canonicity." p. 6. It was in reference to
this entire collection that the Saviour gave to the Jews of his time
the direction, " Search the Scriptures." John v. 39. And it was
of this entire collection that the apostle Paul said, "All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." 2 Tim.
iii. 16.

The other argument for the canonical authority and inspiration
of the book of Job, is the fact that it is quoted in the New Testa-
ment. It is introduced by the same formula, and evidently with
the belief that it sustains the same rank as the other books of the
inspired volume. It is true that it is but twice quoted directly, but
that is sufficient to show that the writers of the New Testament, in
common with all the Jews, regarded it as of divine authority. The
quotations in the New Testament are the following :

Job v. 13 :

" He taketh the wise in their own craftiness,"

quoted in 1 Cor. iii. 19, where Paul introduces the quotation by
the words, " It is written," agreeably to the common form of quot-
ing from the other parts of Scripture.
Job xxxix. 30 :

" Her young ones suck up blood ;

"And where the slain are, there is she," i. e. the eagle.

This is evidently referred to by the Saviour, Matth. xxiv. 28, " For
wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered toge-
ther," and Luke xvii. 37. It must, in candor, however, be admit-
ted that the argument from this source rests mainly on the former
passage, as the remark of the Saviour may have been merely pro-
verbial, without any special reference to the book of Job. Besides
these places, there are a few others in which there seems to be an
allusion to Job, though not so manifest as to be regarded as inten-
tional quotations. See James iv. 10, comp. Job xxii. 29 ; Rom. xi.
34, 35, comp. Job xv. 8 ; and 1 Pet. v. 6, comp. Job xxii. 29. It
is once alluded to by Philo (§31), but is not referred to by Jose-
phus. Eichhorn, Einleit. § 645.

But if the canonical authority and inspiration of the book of Job
be admitted, still a most interesting question presents itself In
what sense is it to be regarded as of divine oriorin ? Are we to con-

INTRODUCTION. IxXlX

sider the whole of it as inspired ? Are all the speeches made, and
all the arguments used, and all the complainings uttered by Job,
and all the views of science presented, to be regarded as the sug-
gestions of the Holy Spirit ? If this is not to be supposed, on what
principles are we to be guided in determining what is of divine
authority, and what not ? And in what sense is the word inspira-
tion to be used, as applied to those portions of the book 1 These
questions, which probably occur to every reader of the book, and
which create perplexity whenever they occur, make it necessary to
offer a few suggestions in regard to its inspiration. The princi-
ples which are necessary to be understood in order to a correct
interpretation of the book of Job, may be stated as follows :

(I.) In an inspired book there is an exact and infallible record of
facts as they actually occur. Whether the record relates to the
existence, perfections, and plans of God ; to what he has done in
the work of creation, providence, or redemption, or to his claims
on mankind ; whether to the existence and employments of angels,
or to the creation, character, and destiny of man ; and whether to
the revolutions of kingdoms, or to the actions, words, feelings, and
views of individual men, still the same principle exists in the case.
The sole object is to secure a fair record ; to state things as they
are. The design of inspiration is not always to communicate new
truth, or truth that was not or could not be otherwise known ; it is
to make a record that shall be free from all error, and shall preserve
the remembrance of things as they actually exist. And so far as
pertains to this principle, it is unnecessary to inquire whether
inspiration is by immediate suggestion or by superintendence ; the
only essential thing is, that in an inspired work there is an exact
and inf;illible statement of the truth which is professed to be record-
ed. As a matter of fact, in the volume of revelation, a large part
of the truths are far above any power of man to discover them, and
they were directly communicated to the speakers and writers by
tlie Holy Spirit. In regard to all that is recorded in the Scriptures,
it is to be held that the Holy Spirit so presided over the minds of
the sacred writers, as to keep them from error, and to secure the
exact record of such things as were necessary to be known to man.

In applying this principle to the book before us, the only thing
which it is necessary to maintain is, that there is a correct record
of events as they occurred to Job, and of the arguments of himself
nnd his friends, and of the address of the Almighty. Whether
f.ither he or his friends were inspired, is quite another question,
and is to be determined by other considerations. Whether all
wliich he said was true, or whether all or any thing which they ad-
vanced was correct, is not to be determined by the mere position
that the hook is inspired.

IXXX TNTRODUCTION.

(2.) It is to be admitted that there are in this book many things
recorded which are in themselves wrong and false. It is not to be
denied that Job uttered some sentiments which cannot be vindi-
cated, and often manifested a spirit which was wrong. This is appa-
rent not only from the contrariety of such sentiments and feelings
toother parts of the Scriptures, but from the reproof of the Almighty
himself at the close of the book. Nor can it be denied that the
friends of Job uttered many erroneous sentiments, for their views
are expressly condemned by God himself, ch. xlii. 7. Still, it is true
that they utttred those sentiments, and that they entertained those
opinions ; and this is properly all that inspiration is responsible for.
In the records of profane history there are often things occurring
just of this character. There are many things recorded which
were in themselves wrong, yet the record is correctly made ; there
are many sentiments expressed by various speakers which are wrong
in spirit, and yet the record that such sentiments were uttered is
true. AH that the fidelity of the historian is responsible for is the
correctness of the record. He is not at all answerable for the pro-
priety of the acts referred to, nor for the sentiments of the various
speakers. If he gives a fair statement, he has done all that the
world can demand of him as an historian — ^just as all that a painter
can be required to do is to give a fair copy of his original. Whe-
ther that original be beautiful or otherv/ise, is quite another ques-
tion. So in the matter before us, all that the inspired writer, who-
ever he may have been, is fairly responsible for, is the fairness and
correctness of his record.

(3.) It is of great importance to preserve the record of things as
they actually occurred, whether they were good or evil, right or
wrong. This gives its value and importance to history ; and this
object is not unworthy of inspiration. We wish to know what the
facts were ; what were the opinions which prevailed ; what were
the sentiments expressed ; what were the views of men on important
subjects. Hence history has brought down to us many things that
are in themselves of little value, or that cannot be depended on as
Sfuides now, but which show what has been the progress of events
So in the book before us, it was of great importance to show the
opinions which prevailed in an early age of the world, and with the
best opportunities for reflection, on a great and important question
of the divine government. It will make us prize more highly the
revelation which ice have on those points ; and it will show us how
much we are rccdhj indebted to revelation. The discussion in this
book was on one of the most important points that can come before
the mind of man. It is on a question which has occurred in all ages,
and which has been every where examined. The inquiry why the
good are afflicted, and why the wicked are prospered, is one that

INTRODUCTION. IxXXi

must come Ijcfore the minds of thinking men, and must present a
great many difficulties. This question is discussed here under
every conceivable advantage. It arose from a most interesting and
afflicting case which had actually occurred. It was examined by
men of age, experience, and wisdom ; by men who could bring to
bear on it the result of patient thought, and who were imbued with
the wisdom of the ancients. The subject was never more fairly or
fully examined ; and nothing ever occurred that could do more to
determine the just limits of the human powers on these great inqui-
ries pertaining to the divine government.

(4.) In a book of revelation for the guidance of mankind, it iis
important not only to preserve the memory of facts as they actually
occurred, and to impart to men truths which the human mind could
not originate ; but to preserve, also, a correct record of the work-
ings of the human mind in circumstances of trial and temptation.
It is important not only to state in the abstract, and by clear pro-
positions, what man is, but to show what he is by exhibiting him as
placed in a great variety of situations, and by permitting us to see
how he will feel, and speak, and act in such circumstances. We
need to sefe what human nature is ; how it developes itself in trying
situations: how the general declarations which God makes about
man are illustrated in his life ; and especicdly, we want to see the
effect of religion in subduing, calming, and elevating the soul, and
in enabling it to bear trials and to meet with temptations. And
for the same purpose, also, it is important to exhibit mind as it
actually exists under the influence of religion — with the imperfec-
tions of our nature — with the impatience, restlessness, murmuring,
and unguarded expressions which occur in times of calamity and
trial. Even the eminent saint is not perfect in this life. Religion
does not deliver him from all imperfection. It leaves the mind
subject to conflict, anxiety, trouble ; engaged in a fearful warfare
with sin and temptation ; liable to the outbreaks of impatience and
munnurino; ; suljject to the possibility of being thrown off the
guard, and of saying things which will be subsequently the occa-
sion of much regret. Now, as it is the design of revelation to
exhibit religion not only in its precepts, doctrines, and commands,
but as it actually exists in the mind and heart, it was important to
furnish some actual illustrations of this in detail. For this pur-
pose, nothing could be better adapted than to select just such a
case as that of Job, and to exhibit him in a condition of most
extraordinary trial. He possessed undoubted piety. He had
made uncommon attainments in religion. He had been a man of
calm judgment — of sober views — of eminent wisdom. His was a
fair case, therefore, in which to show the workings of human
nature even under the most favorable circumstances, and when the

IxXxii INTRODUCTION.

mind is imbued with religion. It was a case designed not to show
what man ought to be, but what he is ; and how much infirmity
and passion may actually exist in the soul, even when imbued with
the principles of piety. Much of this same thing also occurs in
the Book of Psalms ; and one of the principal things which give
value to that inestimable part of the Scriptures is, that it so fully
expresses the feelings of a pious man in a great variety of trying
circumstances. Many of the expressions in the Psalms, as well as
in the Book of Job, we are by no means to regard as the offspring
of genuine religion, but as denoting what human nature is, even
when the prevailing feelings are those of piety. Even in such a
mind, there will be outbreakings of passion ; improper murmuring ;
doubts about the safe condition of the soul ; moments of darkness,
when clear visions of the divine goodness will be withdrawn ; and
expressions of impatience, which will give occasion of regret in
the subsequent life. Comp. Ps. cxvi. 11, Ixxiii. 1-15. To record
these is not to express approbation of them ; and the record may be a
source of unspeakable consolation to those who are betrayed into
similar expressions, as showing that their feelings do not demon-
strate that they have no true religion. One of the principal
excellencies of the Book of Job is, that it preserves just such a
record, and that it shows what the human mind is, even under the
prevalent ascendancy of religious feeling, when it is subjected to
severe trials.

(5.) In order, then, to ascertain in this book what is right and
what is wrong, a careful examination is necessary, in connexion
with the other parts of the Bible. The views of the friends of Job,
and the expressions of Job himself, must be carefully compared
with the law of God, with the counsels and precepts elsewhere
revealed, and with the nature of true religion as elsewhere exhi-
bited. We are not to assume that all that Job said was right ; nor
are we to assume that we would have avoided the impatience and
irreverence which he sometimes manifested. We are to compare
the arguments of Job and his friends with the statements of truth
elsewhere occurring in the Scriptures, and to place his feelings by
the side of those of the only perfect man — the Lord Jesus. In him
there was no impatience — no murmuring — no irreverence. In
him was illustrated fully what religion, under the most trying
circumstances, ought to be ; in Job we see what, as human nature
is constituted, it often is. With the New Testament in our hand,
it is not difficult to form a correct estimate of what was wrong in
the Patriarch of Uz ; and we shall not find it difficult to determine
what we ought to avoid when we are called to pass through similar
trials.

(&) It is .not difficult, then, to determine the value of this book,

INTRODUCTION. IxXXill

>T the place which it deserves to occupy in the sacred canon, l^,
shows the following things : — (a) The operations of the human
heart when under trial. (b) The real power of religion in re-
straining the mind, and in producing ultimately acquiescence in
God. (c) It shows how far the human mind can go of itself, under
the most favorable circumstances, in explaining the mysteries of
the divine government, (d) It shows the necessity that truth should
be revealed beyond what the human understanding has power itself
to originate, to furnish support and consolation, (e) It shows the
duty of perfect submission to the will of God, even when we cannot
see the reason of his doings. In the works of creation and provi-
dence he has evinced so much wisdom and power, so much that
surpasses even now all that science can do to explain it, so much
that is every way superior to man, that we ought to have confidence
in the wisdom of God in oil thingi^, and to believe that the great
Governor of the universe is qualified for universal empire.

Various places have been assigned to the Book of Job in the
ancient and modern arrangements. The place which it occupied
at first in the Jewish canon is uncertain, for the ancient catalogues
of the sacred books differ much Irom each other in regard to the
place of this book. In that of Melito, it stands after the Canticles ;
in that of Origen, after Ezekiel ; in that of Jerome, after the minor
prophets. In Bava Bathra, c. L. f 14, b., the books of the Ha-
giographa follow each other in the following order : 1 Ruth,
2 Psalms, 3 Job, 4 the writings of Solomon, Proverbs, Ecclesias-
tes, Canticles, 5 Lamentations, &:-c. According to Elias Levita,
the Masorites arranged the Hagiographa in the following order :
I Chronicles, 2 Psalms, 3 Job, 4 Proverbs, 5 the five festival books.
The order in the printed editions varies as much as in the cata-
logues. In the Bomberg edition, in 1521, it is placed between
the book of Proverbs and Daniel ; in the edition of Buxtorf, it is
placed between Proverbs and Canticles. See Eichhorn, Einleit.
§ 645, Carpzov, Introd. in V. T. p. 31. The proper place for the
book of Job, in order to estimate its real value and importance, is
at the commencement of the Bible, or in the early part of the book
of Genesis. There is reason to suppose that it is the oldest book
in the world ; and there is a moral certainty that it was penned
before the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, and before, in fact,
any of the revelations were given which now shed so much light on
the path of man. In our estimation of its design, it should stand
at the commencement of the volume of revealed truth, to show how
little the human mind can discover in regard to the principles of
the divine government, and the necessity of revelation. The
reasonings of the sages of Arabia, in the earliest period of the
world, demonstrated abundantly what the reasonings of the sages

IXXXIV INTRODUCTION.

of Greece afterwards did — that man needed a revelation to acquaint
him with the true principles of the divine administration.

§ 7. The patinarclial religion, as developed in the hook of Job.

On the supposition that this book was composed at the time sup-
posed, then it is an invaluable document in regard to the nature of
the patriarchal religion. We have comparatively few notices on
that subject in the book of Genesis, and this volume supplies a chasm
which it is of the greatest importance to fill up in order to understand
the history of the world. We may suppose, without impropriety, that
the mind of Job was imbued with the principles of religion, as then
understood by the patriarchs ; that he was acquainted with the tra-
ditions which had come down from more remote periods ; that he
was apprized of the revelations which had then been communicated
to mankind ; and that he practised the rites of religion which were
then prevalent among the true worshippers of God. If this is so.
then it will be of interest and importance to bring together, in a
brief^ compass, some of the notices of the patriarchal religion
scattered throughout this book.

(1.) The existence of one supreme God, the infinitely wise and
glorious Creator of all things. In the entire book, God is spoken of
as one, nor is there an intimation by any of the speakers that there
is more than one God. There are no allusions to a good and an evil
principle contending in the universe ; nor any trace of the doctrine
which subsequently became prevalent in the East, that such con-
tending principles existed. No sentiments occur like those which
were afterwards embodied in Persia respecting the existence and
conflicts of Ormuzd and Ahriman (see Creuzer, Symbolik und
Mythologie, Erster Band, 226, seq., and Neander, Geschichte, 2,
a. 219, seq.), or what became subsequently the doctrine of the
Manichaeans. The religion of the book of Job is throughout a
pure theism. This fVict is remarkable, because the- subject of the
controversy — the mingled good and evil in the world — was such as
constituted the foundation of the argument for elualism subsequently
in a considerable portion of the Oriental world.

The characteristics ascribed to God in this book are such as are
every where attributed to him in tlie Bible, and are far above any
conceptions which prevailed of him at any time among Pagan phi-
losophers. He is almighty, ch. v. 9, vi, 4, ix. 5-12, et al. He is
omniscient, ch. xi. 11, xxi. 22. He is ^oise, ch. xii. 13, xxiv. 1 ;
inscrutable, ch. xi. 7-9, xxxvi. 26 ; invisible, ch. xi. 11. He is the
Snpreinc Governor of the world, and the regtdcdor of its concerns,
ch. V. 9-13, viii. 4-6. He is the Creator of all things, ch. iv. 17,
x. 8-11, XXXV. 10, xxxviii. 4-10. He is perfectly pure and holy,
ch. XV. 15, 16, xxv. 5, 6. He is eternal, ch. x. 5. He is a spirit-

INTRODUCTION. IxXXV

ual Being y ch, x. 4. He is gi-acious, and is ready to forgive sin to
the penitent, ch. v. 17-27, xi. 13-19, xxii. 21-23, xxxiii. 23-28.
He is n hearer of prayer, ch. xxxiii. 26, xii. 4, xxii. 27. He is the
dispenser of life and death, ch. iv. 9, x. 12, xxxiii. 4. He commiini-
eates his icill by revelation to mankind, ch. iv. 12-17, xxxiii. 14-
17. In these and in numerous other passages in the book, the
existence and attributes of the One Supreme God are stated with
perhaps as much clearness as in any part of the Bible, and in a
manner infinitely superior to any statements respecting the divine
character and perfections in any other ancient books except those
of the Scriptures.

(2.) The universe was created by this one great and glorious
God. It was not the work of chance ; it was not the creation of
any inferior beings ; it was not eternal. A single passage is all
that is necessary to be referred to on this point — a passage of une-
qualled sublimity, ch. xxxviii. 4-11 .

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth .?

Declare, if thou hast understanding.

Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest ^

Or who hath stretclied the hne upon it ?

Whereupon are tlie foundations thereof fastened .-'

Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,

When the morning stars sang together,

And all the sons of God shouted for joy .''

Or who shut up the sea with doors,

When it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb ?

W^hen 1 made the cloud the garment thereof,

And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,

And brake it up for my decreed place,

And set bars and doors,

And said, " Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further ;

And here shall thy proud waves be stayed .''"

(3.) He is the moral Governor of all his intelligent creatures,
dispensing rewards and punishments according to their character.
It is unnecessary to refer to particular passages demonstrating this,
as the whole of the controversy in the book turns on it. Thefaet
tliat God thus governs the universe, and that he punishes the evil
and rewards the good, is assumed on both sides in the controversy,
and is never called in question. The point of inquiry is. In what
manner is it done ? One of the parties maintains that the dispen-
sations of God here are strictly according to human character, and
that character may be fairly inferred from those dispensations ; the
other denies this, but maintains that there will be 'a future retribu-
tion, which will be strictly in accordance with justice. Comp. Notes
on ch. xix. 23-27. Someiuhere, and somehmv, it seems to have
been held by all parties, God would show himself the friend of the
righteous and the punisher of the wicked.

IxXXvi INTRODUCTION.

(4.) The existence of angels, or a superior rank of holy intelli*
gences, is asserted. In ch. i. 6, it cannot be denied that by * the
sons of God ' who came to present themselves before God, holy
beings superior to men are denoted, and that it is designed to repre-
sent this scene as occurring in heaven. It is further implied there,
that they came together from an important service, as if they had
been absent engaged in some ministry to other parts of the universe,
and returned now to render an account, and to receive a fresh com-
mission in their work. The term ' son of God ' is used in Daniel
iii. 25, comp. 28, to denote an angel. Angels also are, undoubt-
edly, referred to in ch. xv. 15 :

Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints ,
Yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight

The express mention of 'the heavens' in the parallelism, as well
as the contrast between the ' saints,' or holy ones, here referred to,
and with man (vs. 14, 16), proves that the ' holy ones' are angels.
It is possible also that in a parallel expression in ch. xxv. 5, there
may be a reference to angels :

Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not;
Yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.

i^he declaration in ch, xv. 15, demonstrates that the received opin-
ion then was that the angels were far inferior to God. They are
spoken of as lioly beings ; as superior to men ; as eminently holy
in comparison with the most holy men, but still as so far inferior to
God that they were comparatively impure.

In ch. V. 1, also, there is probably an allusion to angels :

Call now, if there be any to answer thee ;
And to which of the saints wilt thou turn ^

4nd in ch. xxxviii. 7, they are mentioned as having been present at
the creation of the earth, and as celebrating that great event with
a song of praise :

When the morning stars sang together,

And all the sons of God shouted for joy.

If the book of Job was composed in the time which I have supposed,
as stated in the previous parts of this Introduction, then these are
among the earliest notices of the heavenly hierarchy that we have
in the sacred volume. They imply that the existence of superior
intelligences was an undisputed fact that might be used for the
sake of argument and illustration ; that they v/ere eminently holy,
though far inferior to God ; that they performed important offices
in the administration of the universe, and that they were under the
control of the Almighty, and assembled together before him from
^ime to time to give their account, and to receive afresh his conw

INTRODUCTION. IxXXvil

mands. Early notices of the existence of angelic beings may be
found also in Gen. xix. 1, 15, xxii. 11, xxiv. 7, 40, xxviii. 12, xlviii.
16. Ex. xxiii. 20. Judges xiii. 19. 2 Sam. xxiv. 16, (t ai.

It would be impossible now to trace the origin of the belief in the
existence of superior ranks of holy intelligences, and it would be
inappropriate here to attempt to follow out the dtveloijmeiit of the
idea as it occurs in the Scriptures, or as it is found in the early
views of the Orientals. The belief, however, has always pervaded
the Oriental world, of a series of ascending orders of intellio-ences,
employed for various purposes in the administration of the afftiirs
of the universe. See Creuzer, Sym, u. Myth., and Neander, as
quoted above. " The ancient Persians," says Mr. Sale, Pre. Dis.
to the Koran, sect, iv., " firmly believed the ministry of angels, and
their superintendence over the affairs of the world (as the Magians
still do), and therefore assign them distinct charges and provinces,
giving their names to the months and the days of the months."
The Mohammedans probably derived their views on this subject
from the Old Testament, intermingled with the fables of the Jews ;
but it is an interesting fact that in the country of Mohammed, in
the days of Job, the doctrine of the existence of a superior order
of intelligences was held in its purity, and without any of the inter-
mixtures of puerility with which the doctrine is intermingled in the
Jewish traditions, and in the Koran. See Sale, Pre. Dis., sect. iv.
(5.) The doctrine of the existence of evil spirits was believed
with as much certainty. The introduction of the character of
Satan, ch. i, 11, is conclusive proof on that point. He is a dark,
malignant, accusing spirit ; one who lives to spy out the conduct of
others ; who is suspicious of the sincerity of all virtue ; who delights
in the opportunity of putting virtue to the severest test, with a view
to show that it is false and hollow ; who delights to give pain.
Satan is introduced in ch. i. 11, as if it were generally admitted
that there were such evil spirits, and as if their character was so
well understood that it was unnecessary to offer a remark on the
subject. The book of Job, however, furnishes no information as
to the prevalent belief whether those spirits were originally evil, or
whether they had apostatized from a former state of holiness and
happiness. The character of Satan, however, in the book of Job,
is such as to render it in the highest degree probable that it was a
matter of tradition that he had been the agent in the temptation of
Adam, and in the introduction of sin into the world. There is a
strong resemblance between the feelings with which he looked on
Job, and those with which he must have regarded man in Paradise ;
and the general distrust which he is represented as having in the
piety of Job, and the conviction which he expresses that if the pro-
per test were applied it would be found to be insincere, is such as

Ixxxviii INTRODUCTION.

we might expect from one emboldened by the successful attempt to
alienate man as he was created, from his Creator. There is, indeed,
a slight intimation in the poem itself, that Satan was a fallen spirit
that had been once holy and happy. It is found in the expression
of the belief of Eliphaz in two places, that entire confidence could
not be put even in the holy angels — as if there had been some revolt
or apostacy among them, which rendered it possible that there iiuglit
be more :

Buhold, he put no trust in Ijis servants,

And his angels lie charged with folly.

How mucli less in them that dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust? cli. iv. 18, 19.

And again :

Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints ;

Yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight, ch. xv. 15.

Comp. ch. XXV. 5. Language like this would hardly be employed
unless there was a belief that even the holiness of the angels was
not incorruptible, and that there had been some revolt there among
a part, which rendered it possible that others might revolt also.
Comp. Jude 6, "And the angels which kept not their first estate."
These passages taken together lead to a clear intimation of a belief
that there had been a defection among the heavenly hosts, which
was of such a character as to make it possible that they who re-
mained there might apostatize also. They are not represented,
indeed, as sinful (see the Notes on those passages) ; they have a de-
gree of holiness which nothing human can equal ; but still it is not
of the same character as that of God ; it is not so exalted as to put
it above the suspicion that it might fall.

(6.) Man, in the time of Job, was regarded as a fallen being, and
as wholly depraved. Of the belief that man is fallen, the following
passages are full proof:

Shall mortal man be more just than God ? ^

Shall a man he more pure than his Maker.''

Behold, he put no trust in his servants,

And his angels he charged with folly.

How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust. ch. iv. 17-19.

Man that is born of a woman, is of few days,
And full of trouble.

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean .'
Not one. ch. xiv 1, 4.

Wliat is man, that he should be clean .-'

And he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous .'

Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints ;

Yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight ,

How much more abominable and filthy is man.

Who drinketh iniquity like water ! ch. xv. 14-16.

INTRODUCTION. IxXX'lX

There is also an allusion to the manner in which this depravity was
introduced into the world :

If I covered my transgressions as Adam,

By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom, ch. xxxi. 33.

Ill ch. i. 21 there seems also to be a reference to the sentence pro-
nounced on man in consequence of the apostacy, and in ch. x. 9 it
is possible that there may be the same allusion. As the language
there used, however, is such as is common in all languages, and
such as may be suggested by mere observation, it is not conclu-
sively certain that the reference is to the sentence pronounced on
man on account of his sin.

(7.) The necessity of reconciliation with God in order that
peace may be enjoyed, is abundantly stated and enforced :

Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace ;

Thereby good shall come unto thee.
Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth,

And lay up his words in thine heart, ch. xxii. 21, 22.

Comp. ch. iv. 17-27, xi. 13-19.

(8.) The doctrine is taught that if man was penitent under the
divine chastisement, God would receive the true penitent to his
favor. See the passages quoted above (7), and the following :

If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up.

Thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles, ch. xxii. 23.

If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter,

One among a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness,

Then he is gracious unto him, and saith.

Deliver him from going down to the pit ;

I have found a ransom.
His flesh shall be fresher than a child's ;
jFIe shall return to the days of his youth ;

He shall pray unto God, and he will be favorable unto him j
And he shall see his face with joy ;
For he will render unto man his righteousness.
He looketh upon men ; and if any say, I have sinned,
And perverted that which was right, and it profited me not,
He will deliver his soul from going unto the pit,
And his life shall see the light, ch. xxxiii. 23-28.

(9.) The doctrine was held that man would not live again on
the earth ; that when he died, he departed to return no more. See
this opinion presented with great beauty and force in ch. xiv.

(10.) A very important inquiry next meets us in reference to the
question whether man would live after death; and if he did, what
would be his condition then. This inquiry is of special impor-
tance, if, as has been supposed, this is the oldest book in the world
It will thus throw important light on the development of the idea

XC INTRODUCTION

of the future state, and the belief of the early ages on that point.
On this important subject, the following remarks will probably
comprise all the views presented in the book of Job.

(a) There is no distinct and formal statement of the doctrine of
the immortality of the soul. Indeed, it w'ould be difficult, if not
impossible, to make out from this book that there were any settled
views on that subject then prevailing.

(b) There is no mention made of heaven, as a place of rest, or
as an abode of holiness. The angels are referred to, and God is
often mentioned, and there is, as we shall see, a reference to a
future state of being ; but there is no distinct conception of heaven,
as a place where the righteous would dwell together for ever.

{(■) There is no belief expressed of the resurrection. The only
passage which can, by any persons, be regarded as teaching this
doctrine, is the celebrated passage, ch. xix. 25-27. But that this
does not refer to the resurrection of the body, seems to me to be
clear, for the reasons which are suggested in the Notes on that
passage. The remarks also in ch. xiv. seem to be conclusive proof
that Job did not suppose that the body would be raised up again
after it had once been laid in the dust.

For there is hope of a tree,

If it be cut down, that it will sprout again,

And that tlie tender branch thereof will not cease.

Though the root thereof wax old in the earth,

And the stock thereof die in the ground ;

Yet through the scent of water it will bud,

And bring forth boughs like a plant.

But man dieth and vvasteth away ;

Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he ? vs. 7-10.

The same disbelief of the doctrine of the resurrection, or igno-
rance of it, appears from the following passages :

As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away ;

So he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more

He shall return no more to his house,

Neither shall his place know him any more. ch. vii. 9, 10.

As the waters fail from the sea,

And the flood decayeth and drieth up,

So man lieth down and riseth not ;

Til! the heavens be no more they shall not awake,

Nor be raised out of their sleep, ch. xiv. 11, 12.

If a man die, shall he live again ? ver. 14.

It may be said that these passages only teach that man would not
appear again on the earth ; that he would not rise as the tree
sprouts up and lives again. This may be so; but still, if they had
known of the re.surrection at all, these sentiments would not have

INTRODUCTION. XCl

been uttered. That doctrine would have relieved all the difficulty
as effectually as the belief that man would be raised up to dwell on
the earth would have done.

{d) The doctrine of future retribution is not brought forward as
it would have been, if it was clearly understood. The reference to
a future state of rewards and punishments would have removed all
the embarrassment which was felt by Job and his friends. It would
have explained the mysterious events in the unequal distribution of
rewards and punishments in this life ; relieved the difficulty arising
from the fact that the righteous suffer and the wicked are prospered
here ; and would have kept Job from murmuring and complaining
under his severe trials. And though there is an occasional allusion
to a future state, yet it is by no means such as would be made now
in arguing on the difficulties which perplexed the minds of Job and
his friends.

(e) Yet still, there icas a belief that man would live after death,
or that the grave would not be the end of existence. It is remark-
able that the only passages which refer to the subject, or express
the belief at all, occur in the speeches of Job ; and the manner in
which he brings forward the doctrine seems to have made no
impression on the minds of the other speakers. Even the reference
to the future state by Job himself does not appear to have been
designed to turn aside the force of their arguments. The views
tvliich he presented on the subject do not seem to have excited any
curiosity in their minds, or to have been regarded as of sufficient
importance to demand a reply. The views which were entertained
by Job on the subject are the following :

1. The grave was a quiet resting-place ; a place where toil and
Vv'o, and care would cease.

For now should I have Iain still and been quiet:

I should have slept ;

Then had I been at rest

With kings and counsellors of the earth.

Or cis an hidden untimely birth I had not been ;

As infants which never saw the light.

There the wicked cease from troubling,

And there the weary be at rest. oh. iii.

My days lire passed ;

My plans are at an end —

The cherished purposes of my heart.

Night has become day to mc ;

The light bordereth on darkness.

Truly, I look to Sheol as my home ;

My bed I spread in the place of darkness.

To corruption I say, ' Thou art my father j'

To the worm, ' My mother and my sister.'

And where now is my hope ^

XCll INTRODUCTION.

And who will see my hope fulfilled ?

To the bars of Sheol they must descend ;

Yea, we shall descend together to the dust. ch. xvn. 11-16.

For the numbered years pass away ;

And I am going the way whence I shall not return.

My spirit is exhausted ;

My days are at an end ;

The grave waits for me. ch. xvi. 22, xvii. 1.

And surely the mountain falling comes to nought ;

And the rock is removed from his place ;

The waters wear away the stones,

The floods wash away the dust of the earth,

And the hope of man thou dost destroy.

Thou dost overpower him forever, and he passes off;

Thou dost change his countenance, and sendest him away.

His sons are honored, but he knoweth it not ;

Or tliey are brought low, but he perceiveth it not. ch. xiv. 18-21.

2. But though the grave is thus tlie termination of man's earthly
hopes, yet it is not the end of man. There is an abode to which
the grave is but the entrance ; a world where there is still conscious-
ness, and susceptibility of happiness or wo. In that world the
Shades or the Rephaim reside — the spirits of departed men •

The shades tremble from beneath ;

The waters and their inhabitants.

Sheol is naked before him ;

And Destruction hath no covering, ch. xxvi. 6.

It is clear here that that world is supposed to be ' beneath ;' that it
is under the waters ; that it is the region of ' Sheol ' to which the
grave is the entrance ; and that there is a dominion of God over
those departed Shades or Rephaim, so that he has power to make
them tremble. There can be no doubt that by the Shades or Re-
phaim here, there is allusion to the 3Ianes Mortuum, the spirits of
the dead confined in Sheol. Comp. Isa. xiv. 9. Prov. ii. 18. Ps.
Ixxxviii. 10. Prov. ix. 18. Isa. xxvi. 19. That world is dark and
dismal. . There is an obscure light there, but it serves only to
heighten the gloom :

Are not my days few ?

O spare me, and let me alone, that I may take a little ease,
Before I go whence I shall not return.
To the land of darkness, and the shadow of death —
The land of darkness, like the blackness of the shadow of death ,
Where there is no order, and where its shining is like blackness.

ch.x. 20-22.

For the bearing of this passage on the belief of the future state,
the reader is referred to the Notes, This view of the future world
is remarkably obscure and gloomy, and shows that even the mind

INTRODUCTION. XCUl

of Job had not such anticipations of the future state as to cheer
and suppi.rt him in the time of trial. The appreliension seems to
have been that all the dead would descend through the grave to a
region where only a few scattered rays of light would exist, and
where the whole aspect of the dwelling was in strong contrast with
the cheerful regions of the ' land of the living.' To that dark
world even Job felt that it would be a calamity to descend, for
though there was an expectation that there would be a distinction
there between the good and the evil, yet compared with the present
world of light and beauty, it was a sad and gloomy dwelling-place.

3. That world was regarded by the ancients as less desirable as
a place of residence than this in several respects. It was dark and
gloomy. It was entered through the grave, and the grave was only
its outer court. They who dwelt there were cut off from the enjoy-
ments of the present life. It was a land of silence. Thus Heze-
kiah, speaking of that world to which he had a prospect of descend-
ing when so sick, says :

I said, ' I shall not see Jehoa'ah ;

Jehovah in the land of the living :

I shall see man no more,

Among the inhabitants of the land of stillness.' Isa. xxxviii. 11.

In like manner, it would be a place where the worship of God could
not be appropriately celebrated. Thus Hezekiah says :

For Sheol cannot praise thee ;

Death cannot celebrate thee ;

They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day ;

The father to the children shall make known thy faithfulness.

Isa. xxxviii. 18, 19.

A similar sentnnent is expressed by David, Ps. vi. 5 :

For in death there is no remembrance of thee ;
In the grave who shall give tliee thanks .''

A similar view of that world appears to have been taken by Job.
Indeed, it is not improbable that the view of Job was even more
gloomy in regard to that future world, as he lived at a period so
much earlier than David and Hezekiah. Successive revelations
imparted new light, and the idea of the future state was more and
more developed, though in the time of Hezekiah it was accompa-
nied with much that was dark and gloomy. It was reserved for the
gospel fully to ' bring life and immortality to light.' Yet,

4. In that future world there was some belief that there would
be a separation between the good and the bad ; or that the wicked
would be visited with punislunnif — though the belief of this is repre-
sented as received from travellers, the faith of foreign lands •

XCIV INTRODUCTION.

Have ye not inquired of the travellers ?

And will you not admit their testimony ?

That the wicked man is kept for the day of destruction ?

And that he shall be brought forth in the day of fierce wrath ?

oh. xxi, 30.

That this ' wrath' refers to punishment which the wicked will
experience alter death, is apparent from what Job immediately
adds, that he well knows that his present life may be one of pros-
perity, and that he may lie down with honor in the grave, and that
the clods of the valley Vv^iii be sweet unto him :

Who charges him with his way to his face ?

And who recompenses to him that which he hath done

And he shall be borne [with honor] to the grave,

And [friends] shall watch tenderly over his tomb.

Sweet to him shall be the clods of tlie valley ;

Every man shall go out to honor him,

And of those before him there shall be no number, ch. xxi. 31-33.

Conip. Notes on Isa. xiv. 15-19. It will be apparent from these
ilhisirations, that the views of the future state in the time of Job
were very obscure, and this is the reason of the remarkable fact that
no particular reference is made in the argument to it, in order to
remove the difficulties that were felt in regard to the divine admin-
i.stration here. •

(11.) God was to be worshipped by sacrifice and burnt-offerings.
It was in this way that Job sought to make expiation for the sins
which his children might inadvertently have committed (ch i. 5, 6),
:.!id that the sins of his friends were to be expiated (ch. xlii. 8).
This was evidently among the earliest modes of worship (comp.
'':en. iv. 4, viii. 20, 21), and there was, therefore, some idea of the
iiature of an atonement, or of expiation for sin. I do not see any
reason to doubt that Job, in common with all the patriarchs, may
iiave had some conception that these bloody ofterings were designed
to point to the one great Sacrifice that was to be made for the sins
of the world ; but there is no intimation of any such belief in the
book itself Of the modes of worship, besides the offering of sacri-
fice, nothing can be learned from this book, except that sacrifices
were to be accompanied with prayer, and that prayer was acceptable
to God and would be heard ; ch. xlii. 8, xxxiii. 26, 27, 28, xi. 13-15.
Repentance was also demanded, and where there was a penitent
heart, the offender v/ould be accepted.

If thou prepare thine heart,

And stretch out thine hands towards him ;

If the iniquity which is in thine hands thou wilt put far away,

And will not suffer evil to dwell in thy habitation,

Then shalt thou lift up thy countenance [bright] without spot,

And thou shalt be firm, and shalt not fear.

INTRODUCTION. XCV

And thy life shall be bright above the noonday,

— Now thou art in darkness — but thou shalt be as the morning.

ch. xi. 13-17.

The religion of the time of Job was a pure theism. It consisted
in the worship of one God, with appropriate sacrifices, and with
acts of confidence and adoration, and with dependence on his mer-
cy to lost sinners. There is, indeed, no express mention of convo-
cations for public worship, nor of the Sabbath, nor of the office of
priest. As in the time of Noah (Gen. viii.) the father of a family
was the officiating priest who laid the victim on the altar, so it was
in the time of Job, ch. i. 4, 5. In these services there was the
most profound veneration for the one God, and the deepest abhor-
rence of idolatry in all its forms.

If I have made gold my trust,

Or said to the fine gold. Thou art my confidence ;

If I rejoiced because my wealth was great.

And because mine hand had found much ;

If I beheld the sun when it shined,

And the moon advancing in its brightness.

And my heart has been secretly enticed,

And my mouth has kissed my hand;

This also were a crime to be punished by the judge,

For I should have denied the God who is above, ch. xxxi. 24-128.

There is nowhere in the book an intimation that the sun, the moon,
the stars, or any created being, was to be honored as God.

(12.) We have in the book of Job an interesting view of the
nature and effects of true piety. The necessity of holiness of life,
of trust in God, of integrity and truth, is every where insisted on as
essential to true religion. To transcribe the particular places
where these are dwelt upon, would be to copy a considerable
part of the book. We may just advert to the beautiful manner in
which the necessity oi sincerity in the service of God is urged, and
in which the sin and danger of hypocrisy are expressed :

Can the paper reed grow up without mire .'*

Can the bulrush grow up without water .''

Even yet in its greenness, and uncut.

It withereth before any other herb.

Such are the ways of all who forget God j

So perishes the hope of the hypocrite.

His hope shall rot,

And his trust shall be the building of the spider.

He shall lean upon the building, and it shall not stand j

He shall grasp it, but it shall not endure, ch. viii. 11-15

Knowest thou not that from the most ancient times.
From the time when man was placed upon the earth,
That the triumphing of the wicked is short.

XtJVl INTRODUCTION.

And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment ?

Though his greatness mount up to the heavens,

And his excellency unto the clouds,

Yet he shall perish for ever as the vilest substance

They who have seen him shall say, Where is he ?

He shall flee away as a dream, and not be found,

Yea, he shall vanish as a vision of the night, ch. xx. 4-8.

For what is the hope of the hypocrite when [God] cuts him off;

When he taketh away his life ?

Will God listen to his cry

When trouble cometh upon him ?

Will he delight him^self in the Almighty ?

Will ho call at all times upon God ? ch. xxvii. 8-10.

(13.) An interesting view of the religion of the time of Job is
seen in its influence on morals and manners. Customs in the Ori-
ental world change little, and in Arabia at the present time we have
still interesting illustrations of what existed in the days of Job. In
the patriarchal times all this was identified with their religion, and
there is scarcely even now to be found any where more beautiful
illustrations of the nature and effects of religion in these respects,
than occur in the book of Job, and nowhere are there more happy
descriptions of the simplicity, the purity, the urbanity of early man-
ners and customs. This is seen in the book of Job in the following
respects :

(a) In the perfect respectfulness of manner in their treatment of
each other. In all the long controver.sy recorded in this book, and
in all that was said that was harsh and adapted to irritate, there is
no interruption of the speaker. There is no passionate outbreak.
It was a conceded and well understood matter that the speaker was
to be heard patiently through, and then that the reply was to be
heard as patiently. No matter how much misapprehension of the
meaning of the one who Itad spoken there might be, no matter
what reflection there might be on his motives or character, and no
matter how severe and withering the sarcasm, yet there is no attempt
to break in upon the speaker. This is understood still to be cour-
tesy in the Oriental world ; this was regarded as courtesy among
the aborigines of this country ; and in this respect the more civil-
ized and polished people of our times might learn something from
even the wandering Arab, or the *'wild untutored Indian." Thus
Dr. Franklin (Works, vol. ii 455), speaking of the " Savages of
North America," says, " Having frequent occasions to hold public
councils, they have acquired great order and decency in conduct-
ing them. The old men sit in the foremost ranks, the warriors in
the next, and the women and children in the hindmost. The busi-
ness of the women is to take exact notice of what passes, imprint it
on their memories, and communicate it to their children. He that

INTRODUCTION. XCVU

would speak, rises. The rest observe a profound silence. When
he has finished, and sits down, they leave him five or six minutes to
recollect, that if he has omitted any thing he intended to say, or
has any thing to add, he may rise again and deliver it. To inter-
rupt another, even in common conversation, is reckoned highly
indecent. How different this is from the conduct of a polite Brit-
ish House of Commons, where scarce a day passes without some
confusion, that makes the Speaker hoarse in calling to order, ^^ &c.
" It is one of the Indian rules of politeness not to answer a public
proposition the same day that it is made ; they think it would be
treating it as a light matter, and that they show it respect by taking
time to consider it, as of a matter important." Ibid. p. 454.

{h) Respect for age. More beautiful instances of this can no-
where be found than in the modesty of Elihu, and in the deference
which Job said was paid to him in his days of prosperity. Elihu
says :

I !ini young, and ye are very old ;

Therefore I was afraid,

And durst not make known to you mine opinion.

I said, Days should speak,

And niuhitude of years should teach wisdom.

But there is a spirit in man :

And the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding.

Great ijien are not always wise ;

Neither do the aged always understand what is right.

Therefore I said. Hearken unto me ;

I also will declare mine opinion.

Behold, I waited for your words,

I listened to your arguments,

While ye searched out what to say.

Yea, I attended to you ;

And behold, there is no one that hath refuted Job,

Or answered his words.

They were confounded ; they answered no more ;

They put words far from them.

And I waited, although they did not speak ;

Although they stood still, and answered no more.

Now will I answer on my part ;

Even I will show mine opinion, eh. xxxii. 6-17.

So Job speaks of the respect that was shown him in the days of his
prosperity :

When I went forth to the gate through the city,

And prepared my seat in the public place.

The young men saw me, and respectfully retired before me j

The aged arose, and stood.

The princes refrained from speaking.

And laid their hand upon their mouth.

The voice of counsellors was silent,

XCVlll INTRODUCTION.

And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.

For the ear heard, and it blessed me ;

And the eye saw, and it bore witness to me. ch. xxix. 7-11.

(c) One of the virtues then much dwelt on, as an act of piety,
was that of hospitality. This is frequently alluded to with great
beauty in the poem, as it is in all the poetry of Arabia now, and in
the days of Job was esteemed to be a virtue as essential as it is
now in the East.

If I have withheld the poor from their desire,

Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail ;

If I have eaten my morsel alone,

And the fatherless hath not eaten of it ;

— For from my youth he grew up with me as with a father.

And I was her guide from my earliest days —

If I have seen any one perish for want of clothing.

Or any poor man without covering ;

If his loins have not blessed me,

And if he have not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep ;

Then may my shoulder full from the blade.

And mine arm be broken from the upper bone, ch. xxxi. 16-22.

If my domestics could not at all times say, [table,'

'Let them show one who has not been satisfied from his hospitable

(The stranger did not lodge in the street,

My doors I opened to the traveller,)

Then let me be confounded before a great multitude !

Let the contempt of families crush me ! ch. xxxi. 31-34.

See also ch. xviii. 5, 6, xxi. 17, and the Notes on those places.

(d) In like manner, piety then consisted much in kindness to
the poor, the widow, and the fatherless, and to those in the humbler
ranks of life. Job's beautiful description of his own piety in the
days of his prosperity is ail that is needful to illustrate this ;

For I rescued the poor when they cried.

And the fatherless when there was none to help him.

The blessing of iiim that was ready to perish came upon me.

And I caused the heart of the widow to sing for joy. ch. xxix. 12, 13

I was eyes to the blind.

And feet was I to the lame.

I was a father to the poor.

And the cause of the unknown I searched out.

And I broke the teeth of the wicked,

And from their teeth I plucked away the spoil, ch. xxix. 15-17

Did not I weep for him that was in trouble,

Was not my soul grieved for the poor .'' ch. xxx. 25.

If I have refused justice to my man-servant or maid-servant,

When they had a cause with me,

What shall I do when God riseth up .''

When he visiteth, what shall I answer him .-*

Did not he that made me in the womb make him ?

Did not the same One fashir»n us in the womb .' ch. xxxi. 13-15.

INTRODUCTION. XCIX

If my land cry out against me,

And tlie furrows likewise complain ;

If I have eaten its fruits without payment,

And extorted the living of its owners ;

Let thistles grow up instead of wheat,

And noxious weeds instead of barley, ch. xxxi. 38-40.

§ 8. The state of the arts aiid sciences in the time of Job.

There is one important aspect still in which the book of Job may
be contemplated. It is as an illustration of the state of the arts
and sciences of the period of the world when it was composed. We
are not indeed, in a poem of this nature, to look for fortnal treatises
on any of the arts or sciences as then understood, but all that we
can expect to find must be incidental allusions, or hints, that may
enable us to determine with some degree of accuracy what advances
society had then made. Such allusions are also of much more
value in determining the progress of society, than extended descrip-
tions of conquests and sieges would be. The latter merely change
t!ie boundaries of empire ; the former indicate progress in the
condition of man. Inventions in the arts and discoveries in sci-
ence are fxcd points, from which society does not go backward. I
propose, then, as an illustration of the progress which society had
made in the time of Job, as well as to prepare the mind to read the
book in the most intelligent manner, to bring together the scattered
notices of the state of the arts and sciences contained in this poens.
No exact order can be observed in this ; nor is there any thing in
the poem to indicate which of the things specified had the priority
in point of time, or when the invention or discovery was made. The
order of the arrangement chosen will have some reference to the
importance of the subjects, and also some to what may be supposed
to have first attracted attention. For a more full view of the various
points that will be referred to, reference may be made to the N'^tcs
on the various passages adduced.

I. ASTRONOMY.

The stars were early observed in Chaldea, where the science of
astronomy had its origin. A pastoral people always have some
knowledge of the heavenly bodies. The tending of flocks by night,
under a clear Oriental sky, gave abundant opportunity for observ-
ing the motions of the heavenly bodies, and names would soon be
given to the most important of the stars ; the difference between
the planets and the fixed stars would be observed, and the imagina-
tion would be employed in grouping the stars into fanciful resem-
blances to animals and <^ther objects. In like manner, as caravans

e INTRODUCTION.

travelled much at night through the deserts, on account of the
comparative coolness then, they would have an opportunity of ob-
serving the stars, and some knowledge of the heavenly bodies be-
came necessary to guide their way. The notices of the heavenly
bodies in this poem show chiefly that names were given to some of
the stars ; that they were grouped together in constellations ; and
that the times of the appearance of certain stars had been carefully
observed, and their relation to certain aspects of the weather had
been marked. There is no express mention of the planets as dis-
tinguished from the fixed stars ; and nothing to lead us to suppose
that they were acquainted with the true system of astronomy.

He commandeth the sun, and it risetli not,

And he sealeth up the stars.

He alone stretcheth out the heavens,

And vvalketh upon the high waves of the sea.

He maketh Arcturus, Orion,

The Pleiades, and the secret chambers of the south, ch.ix. 7-9.

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades,

Or loose the bands of Orion .''

Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season,

Or lead forth the Bear with her young ?

Knowest thou the laws of the heavens.

Or hast thou appointed their dominion over the earth ?

ch. xxxviii. 31-33.

It would seem from these passages, that the allusion to the clus-
ters of stars here, is made to them as the harbingers of certain sea-
sons. " It is well known, that, in different regions of the earth, the
appearance of certain constellations before sunrise or after sunset,
marks the distinction of seasons, and regulates the labors of the
husbandman." Wcmyss. It is also known that the appearance of
certain constellations — as Orion — was regarded by mariners as
denoting a stormy and tempestuous season of the year. See the
Notes on the passages quoted above. This seems to be the know-
ledge of the constellations referred to here, and there is no certain
evidence that the observation of the heavens in the time of Job had
gone beyond this.

A somewhat curious use has been made of the reference to the
stars in the book of Job, by an attempt to determine the time when
he lived. Supposing the principal stars here mentioned to be those
of Taurus and Scorpio, and that these were the cardinal constella-
tions of spring and autumn in the time of Job, and calculating their
positions by the precession of the equinoxes, the time referred to
in the book of Job was found to be 818 years after the deluge, or
184 years before the birth of Abraham. " This calculation, made
by Dr. Brinkley of Dublin, and adopted by Dr. Hales, had been
made also in 1765 by M. Diicontant in Paris, with a result differing

INTRODUCTION. CI

only in being forty-two years less." The coincidence is remark-
able, but the proof that the constellations referred to are Taurus
and Scorpio, is too uncertain to give much weight to the argu-
ment.

11. COSMOLOGY.

The intimations about the structure, the size, and the support of
the earth, are also very obscure, and the views entertained would
seem to have been very confused. Language is used, doubtless, such
as would express the popular belief, and it resembles that which is
commonly employed in the Scriptures. The common representa-
tion is, that the heavens are stretched out as a curtain or tent, or
sometimes as a solid concave sphere in which the heavenly bodies
Vixe fixed (see Notes on Isa. xxxiv. 4), and that the earth is an im-
mense plain, surrounded by water, which reached the concave
heavens in which the stars were fixed. Occasionally the earth is
represented as supported by pillars, or as resting on a solid founda-
tion ; and once we meet v/ith an intimation that it is globular, and
suspended in space.

In the following passages the earth and the sky are represented
as supported by pillars :

He sh^keth the earth out of her place,
And the pillars thereof tremble, ch. ix. 6.

The pillars of heaven tremble,

And are astonished at his rebuke, ch. xxvi. 11,

In the latter passage the reference is to mountains, which seem to
uphold the sky as pillars, in accordance with the common and popu-
lar representation among the ancients. Thus Mount Atlas, in
Mauritania, was represented as a pillar on which heaven was sus-
pended :

"■ Atlas' broad shoulders prop th' incumbent skies,
Around his cloud-girt head the stars arise."

In the following passage the earth is represented as suspended on
nothing, and there would seem to be a slight evidence that the true
doctrine about the form of the earth was then known :

He stretcheth out the North over the empty space,
And hangeth the earth upon nothing, ch. xxvi. 7.

See particularly the Notes on that passage. Though the belief
seems to have been that the earth was thus 'self-balanced,' yet
there is no intimation that they were acquainted with the fact that
it revolves on its axis, or around the sun as a centre.

cii INTRODUCTION.

III. GEOGRAPHY.

There are few intimations of the prevalent knowledge of geogia-
phy in the time of Job. In one instance foreign regions are men-
tioned, though there is no certainty that the countries beyond
Palestine are there referred to :

Have ye not inquired of the travellers ?

And will ye not hear their testimony ? ch. xxi. 29.

In the close of the book, in the mention of the hippopotamus and
the crocodile, there is evidence that there was some knowledge of
the land of Egypt, though no intimation is given of the situation or
extent of that country.

The cardinal points are referred to, and there is evidence in this
book, as well as elsewhere in the Scriptures, that the geographer
then regarded himself as lookincr towards the East. The South was
thus the ' right hand,' the North the left hand, and the West the
region * behind :'

Behold, I go to the East, and he is not there ;

And to the West, but I cannot perceive him ;

To the North, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him ;

He hideth himself on the South, that I cannot see him. ch. xxiii. 8.

See the Notes on this verse for an explanation of the terms used.
Comp. the following places, where similar geographical terms oc
cur. Judges xviii. 12. Deut. xi. 24. Zech. xiv. 8. Ex. x. 19. Josh,
xvii. 7. 2 Kings xxiii. 13. 1 Sam. xxiii. 24. Gen. xiv. 15. Josh. xix.
27.

Whatever was the form of the earth, and the manner in which it
was sustained, it is evident from the following passage that the land
was regarded as surrounded by a waste of waters, whose outer limit
was deep and impenetrable darkness :

He hath drawn a circular bound upon the waters,

To the confines of the light and darkness, ch. xxvi. 10.

Yet the whole subject is represented as one with which man was
then unacquainted, and which was beyond his grasp :

Hast thou observed the breadths of the earth ?
Declare, if thou knowest it all. ch. xxxviii. 18.

For a full illustration of this passage, and the views of geography
which then prevailed, the reader is referred to the Notes. It is
evident that the knowledge of geography, so far as is indicated by
this book, was then very limited, though it should also be said that
in the argument of the poem there was little occasion to refer to
knowledge of this kind, and that few intimations are to be expected
on the subject.

INTRODUCTION. CUl

IV. METEOROLOGY.

There are much more frequent intimations of the state of know-
ledge on the various subjects embraced under this head, than of
either astronomy or geography. These intimations show that these
subjects had excited much attention, and had been the result of
careful observation ; and in regard to some of them there are indi-
cations of a plausible theory of their causes, though most of them
are appealed to as among the inscrutable things of God. The facts
excited the wonder of the Arabian observers, and they clothed their
conceptions of them in the most beautiful language of poetry ; but
they do not often attempt to explain them. On the contrary, these
obvious and undisputed facts, so inscrutable to them, are referred
to as full proof that we cannot hope to comprehend the ways of
God, and as a reason why we should bow before him with profound
adoration. Among the things referred to are the following :

(a) The Aurora Borealis, or Northern lights. Thus the magni-
ficent description of the approach of the Almighty to close the
controversy (ch. xxxvii. 21-23), seems to have been borrowed by
Elihu from the beautiful lights of the North, in accordance with
the common opinion that the North was the seat of the Divinity •

And now — man cannot look upon the bright splendor that is on the

For the wind passeth along and maketh them clear. [clouds !

Golden splendor approaches from the North : —

How fearful is the majesty of God !

The Almighty ! we cannot find him out !

Great in power and in justice, and vast in righteousness !

Comp. Notes on Isa. xiv. 13, and on Job xxiii. 9.

{b) Tornadoes, whirlwinds, and tempests, were the subject of
careful observation. The sources whence they usually came were
attentively marked, and the various phenomena which they exhibit-
ed were so observed that the author of the poem was able to des-
cribe them with the highest degree of poetic beauty :

With his hands he covereth the lightning,

And commandeth it where to strike.

He pointeth out to it his friends —

The collecting of his wrath is upon the wicked.

At this also my heart palpitates,

And is moved out of its place.

Hear, O hear, the thunder of his voice !

The muttering thunder that goes forth from his mouth !

He directeth it under the whole heaven.

And his lightning to the ends of the earth.

He thundereth with the voice of his majesty,

And he will not restrain the tempest when his voice is heard.

ch. xxvi. 32, 33, xxxvii. 1-5,

CIV INTRODUCTION.

Terrors come upon him like waters,

In the night a tempest stealeth him away.

The East wind carrieth him away, and he departeth,

And it sweeps him away from his place, ch. xxvi. 20, 21.

(c) The dew had been carefully observed, yet the speakers did
not understand its phenomena. How it was produced ; whether it
descended from the atmosphere, or ascended from the earth, thej
did not profess to be able to explain. It was regarded as one of
the things which God only could understand ; yet the manner in
which it is spoken of shows that it had attracted deep attention,
and led to much inquiry :

Hath the rain a father ?

And who hath begotten the drops of the dew .? ch. xxxviii. 28.

(d) The same remarks may be made of the formation of the
hoar-frost, of snow, of hail, and of ice. There is no theory sug-
gested to account for them, but they are regarded as among the
things which God alone could comprehend, and which evinced his
wisdom. There had been evidently much careful observation of
the facts, and much inquiry into the cause of these things ; but the
speakers did not profess to be able to explain them. To this day,
also, there is much about them which is unexplained, and the far-
ther the investigation is carried, the more occasion is there to ad-
mire the wisdom of God in the formation of these things. See the
Notes on the passages that will now be referred to :

From whose womb came the ice .''

The hoar-frost of heaven, who gave it birth .? ch. xxxviii. 29.

By the breath of God frost is produced,

And the broad waters become compressed, ch. xxxvii. 10.

For he saith to the snow, ' Be thou on the earth.' ch. xxxvii 6.

Hast thou been into the storehouses of snow .?
Or seen the storehouses of hail.
Which I have reserved until the time of trouble,
To the day of battle and war.? ch. xxxviii. 22, 23.

(e) The dawning of the morning is described with great beauty,
and is represented as wholly beyond the power of man to produce
or explain :

Hast thou, in thy life, given commandment to the morning.?

Or caused the dawn to know his place ?

That it may seize on the fir corners of the earth,

And scatter the robbers before it ?

It turns itself along like clay under the seal.

And all things stand forth as if in gorgeous apparel.*

ch. xxxviii. 12-14.

* For the meaning of this uncommonly beautiful im.igery, see the Notes on this place.

INTRODUCTION. CV

(d) So all the phenomena of light are represented as evincing
the wisdom of God, and as wholly beyond the ability of man to ex-
plain or comprehend them ; yet so represented as to show that it
had been a subject of careful observation and reflection :

Where is the way to the dwelling-place of light ?

And the darkness, where is its place ?

That thou couldst conduct it to its limits,

And that thou shouldst know the path to its dwelling ?

ch. xxxviii. 19, 20.

{e) The clouds and rain also had been carefully observed, and
the laws which governed them were among the inscrutable things
of God:

Who can number the clouds by wisdom ?

And who can empty the bottles of heaven ? ch. xxxviii. 37.

The clouds seem to have been regarded as a solid substance capa-
ble of holding rain like a leathern bottle, and the rain was caused
by their emptying themselves on the earth. Yet the whole pheno-
mena were considered to be beyond the comprehension of man.
The laws by which the clouds were suspended in the air, and the
reason why the rain descended in small drops instead of gushing
floods, were alike incomprehensible :

Who also can understand the outspreading of the clouds,
And the fearful thunderings in his pavilion ? ch. xxxvi. 29.

For he draweth up the drops of water ;

They distil rain in his vapor.

Which the clouds pour down ;

They pour it upon man in abundance, ch. xxxvi. 27, 28.

He bindeth up the waters in the thick clouds,
And the cloud is not rent under them. ch. xxvi. 8.

(/) The sea had also attracted the attention of these ancient
observers, and there were phenomena there which they could not
explain :

Who shut up the sea with doors,

In its bursting forth as from the womb ?

When I made the cloud its garment.

And swathed it in thick darkness ?

I measured out for it its limits.

And fixed its bars and doors,

And said, Thus far shalt thou come, but no farther !

And here shall thy proud waves be stayed ! ch. xxxviii. 8-11.

There is a reference here, undoubtedly, to the creation ; but as
this is the language of God describing that event, it cannot be
determined with certainty that a knowledge of the method of crea-
tion had been communicated to them by tradition. But language

CVl INTRODUCTION.

like this implies that there had been a careful observation of the
ocean, and that there were things in regard to it which were to
them incomprehensible. The passage is a most sublime descrip-
tion of the creation of the mighty mass of waters, and while it is
entirely consistent with the account in Genesis, it supplies some
important circumstances not recorded there.

V. MINING OPERATIONS

The twenty-eighth chapter of the book — one of the most beauti-
ful portions of the Bible — contains a statement of the method of
mining then practised, and shows that the art was well understood.
The mechanical devices mentioned, and the skill with which the
process was carried on, evince considerable advance in the arts :

Truly, there is a vein for silver,

And a place for gold where they refine it.

Iron is obtained from the earth,

And ore is fused into copper.

Man puttelh an end to darkness,

And completely searches every thing —

The rocks, the thick darkness, and the shadow of death.

He sinks a shaft far from a human dwelling ;

They, unsupported by the feet, hang suspended j

Far from men they swing to and fro.

The earth — out of it cometh bread ;

And when turned up beneath, it resembles fire.

Its stones are the places of sapphires,

And gold dust pertains to it.

The path thereto no bird knoweth,

And the vulture's eye hath not seen it.

The fierce wild beasts have not trodden it,

And the lion hath not walked over it.

Man layeth his hand upon the flinty rock ;

He overturneth mountains from their foundations ;

He cutteth out canals among the rocks,

And his eye seeth every precious thing.

He restraineth the streams from trickling down,

And bringeth hidden things to light, vs. 1-11.

The operation of mining must have early attracted attention, for
the art of working metals, and of course their value, was understood
in a very early age of the world. Tubal Cain is described as an
'' instructor of every artificer in brass and iron." Gen. iv. 22. The
description in Job shows that this art had received much attention,
and that in his time it had been carried to a high degree of perfec-
tion. See Notes on ch. xxviii. l-ll.

VI. PRECIOUS STONES.

There is frequent mention of precious stones in the book of Job,
and it is evident that they were regarded as of great value, and were

INTRODUCTION. CVil

used for ornament. The following are mentioned, as among the
precious stones, though some of them are now ascertained to be of
little value. There is evidence that they judged, as was necessa-
rily the case in the early age of the world, rather from appear-
ances than from any chemical knowledge of their nature.
The onyx and sapphire :

It [wisdom] cannot be estimated by the gold of Ophir j
By the precious onyx, or the sapphire, ch. xxviii. 16.

Coral, crystal, and rubies :

No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal ;

For the price of wisdom is above rubies, ch. xxviii. 18.

The topaz found in Ethiopia, or Cush :

The topaz of Cush cannot equal it,

Nor can it be purciiased with pure gold. ch. xxviii. 19.

These were found as the result of the processes of mining, though
it is not known that the art of engraving on them was known. It
is, moreover, not entirely easy to fix the signification of the original
words used here. See Notes on ch. xxviii.

VII. COINING, WRITING, ENGRAVING.

It is not quite certain, though there is some evidence, that the
art of coining was known in the days of Job. The solution of this
question depends on the meaning of the word rendered * a piece of
money,' in ch. xlii. 11. For an examination of this, the reader is
referred to the Notes on that verse.

There is the fullest evidence that the art of writing was then
known :

O that my words were now written !

O that they were engraved on a tablet 1

That with an iron graver, and with lead,

They were engraven upon a rock for ever. ch. xix. 23, 24.

0 that He would hear me !

Behold my defence ! May the Almighty answer me !

Would that he who contends with me would write down his charge !

Truly upon my shoulder would I bear it ;

1 would bind it upon me as a diadem, ch. xxxi. 35, 36.

The materials for writing are not indeed particularly mentioned,
but it is evident that permanent records on stone were made ; that
this was done sometimes by making use of lead ; and also that it
was common to make use of portable materials, and as would seem
of flexible materials, since Job speaks (ch. xxxi.) of binding the
charge of his adversary, when written down, around his head like

CVHl INTRODUCTION.

a turban or diadem. Comp. Notes on Isa. viii. 1, xxx. 8. Though
the papyrus, or 'paper reed,' of Egypt, seems to be once alluded
to (see Notes on ch. viii. 11), yet there is no evidence that it was
known as a material for writing.

VIII. THE MEDICAL ART.

Physicians are once mentioned :

For truly ye are forgers of fallacies ;
Physicians of no value, all of you. ch. xiii. 4.

But there is no intimation of the methods of cure, or of the reme-
dies that were applied. It is remarkable that, so far as appears, no
methods were taken to cure the extraordinary malady of Job him-
self. He excluded himself from society, sat down in dust an*/
ashes, and merely attempted to remove the offensive matter that th(
disease collected on his person ; ch. ii, 8. So far as appears from
the Scriptures, the means of cure resorted to in early times were
chiefly external applications. See Notes on Isa. i. 6, xxxviii. 21,
22. " Physicians " are mentioned in Gen. 1. 2, but only in connec-
tion with embalming, where it is said that " Joseph commanded his
servants the physicians to embalm his father, and the physicians
embalmed Israel."

IX. MUSIC.

Musical instruments are mentioned in the book of Job in such a
manner as to show that the subject of music had attracted atten-
tion, though w^e may not be able now to ascertain the exact form
of the instruments which were employed :

They excite themselves with the tabor and the harp,
And rejoice at the sound of the pipe. ch. xxi. 12.

My harp also is turned to mourning,

And my pipes to notes of grief, ch. xxx. 31.

For an explanation of these terms, the reader is referred to the
Notes on these passages. We have evidence that music was culti-
vated long before the time in which it is supposed Job lived (Gen.
iv. 21), though there is no certainty that even in his time it haa
reached a high degree of perfection.

X. HUNTING.

One of the earliest arts practised in society would be that of
taking and destroying wild beasts, and we find several allusions to
the methods in which this was done, in the book of Job. Nets, gins,

INTRODUCTION. CIX

and pitfalls, were made use of for this purpose, and in order to drive
the wild beasts into the nets or pitfalls, it was customary for a
number of persons to extend themselves in a forest, inclosing a
large space, and gradually drawing nearer to each other and to the
centre :

His strong steps shall be straitened,

And his own plans shall cast him down.

For he is brought into his net by his own feet,

And into the pittall he walks.

Tiic snare takes him by the heel,

And the gin takes fast hold of him.

A net is secretly laid for him in the ground,

And a trap for him in the pathway, ch. xviii. 7-10.

The howling of dogs, and the shouts of the hunters, are represented
as filling the wild animal with dismay, and as harassing him as he
attempts to escape :

Terrors alarm him on every side,

And harass him at his heels, ch. xviii. 11.

While spent with hunger and fatigue, he is entangled in the spread
nets, and becomes an easy prey for the hunter :

His strength shall be exhausted by hunger,

And destruction shall seize upon his side

It shall devour the vigor of his frame.

The first-born of Death shall devour his limbs, ch. xviii. 12, 13

Comp. Ps. cxl. 4, 5. Ezek. xix. 6-9.

XI. METHODS OF HUSBANDRY.

The customs of the pastoral life, one of the chief employments
of early ages, are often referred to ; ch. i. 3, 16, xlii. 12.

He shall never look upon the rivulets —

The streams of the valleys— of honey and butter, cb. xx. 17.

When I washed my steps with cream,

And the rock poured me out rivers of oil. ch xxix. 6.

Pioucrhing with oxen is mentioned, ch. i. 14. So also ch. xxxi.

3S-40 :

If my land cry out against me.

And the furrows likewise complain ;

If I have eaten its fruits without payment,

And extorted the living of its owners ;

Let thistles grow up instead of wheat,

And noxious weeds instead of barley, ch. xxxi. 38-40.

The cultivation of the vine and the olive, and the pressure of grapes
and olives, is mentioned •

ex INTRODUCTION.

He shall cast his unripe fruit as the vine,

And shed his blossoms like the olive, ch. xv. 33.

They reap their grain in the field [of others],

And they gather the vintage of the oppressor, ch. xxiv. 6.

They cause them to express oil within their walls ;
They tread their wine-presses, and yet they suffer thirst.

ch. xxiv 11.

ft is remarkable that in the book of Job there is no mention of the
palm, the pomegranate, or any species of flowers. In a country
like Arabia, where the date now is so important an article of food,
it would have been reasonable to anticipate that there would have
been some allusion to it. Little is known, from what is said, of the
implements of husbandry, and nothing forbids us to suppose that
they were of the rudest sort.

XII. MODES OF TRAVELLING.

From the earliest period in the East the mode of travelling to any
distance appears to have been by caravans, or companies. Two
objects seem to have been contemplated by this in making long
journeys across pathless deserts that were much infested by robbers ;
the one was the purpose of self-defence, the other mutual accommo-
dation. For the purposes of those travellii^ companies, camels
are admirably adapted by nature, alike from their ability to bear
burdens, from the scantiness of food which they require, and for
their being able to travel far without water. Caravans are first
mentioned in Gen. xxxvii. 25, " And they sat down to eat bread,
and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold a company of
Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery,
and balm, and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt." A beau-
tiful notice of this mode of travelling occurs in Job (vi. 15-20), as
being common in his time :

My brethren are faithless as a brook,

Like the streams of the valley that pass away ;

Which are turbid by means of the [melted] ice.

In which the snow is hid [by being dissolved].

In the time when they become warm they evaporate.

When the heat cometh, they are dried up from their place ;

The channels of their way wind round about ;

They go into nothing, and are lost.

The caravans of Tenia look ;

The travelling companies of Sheba expect to see them.

They are ashamed that they have relied on them,

They come even to the place, and are confounded.

Ther*. is, in one place in Job, a slight intimation that runners or
carriers were employed to carry messages when extraordinary speed

INTRODUCTION. CXI

was demanded, though there is no evidence that this was a settled
custom, or that it was regulated by law :

And my days are swifter than a runner ;

They flee away, and they see no good. ch. ix. 25.

Connected with the subject of travelling, we may remark, that the
art of making light boats or skiffs from reeds appears to have been
known, though there is no mention of ships, or of distant naviga-
tion :

They pass on like the reed-skiffs ;

As the eagle darting on its prey. ch. ix. 26.

XIII. THE MILITARY ART.

There are in the book of Job frequent allusions to weapons of
war, and to modes of attack and defence, such as to show that the
subject had attracted much attention, and that war then was by no
means unknown. In the poem we find the following allusions to
the weapons used, and to the methods of attack and defence.

To poisoned arrows :

For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,

Their poison drinketh up my spirit ;

The terrors of God set themselves in array against me. ch. vi. 4.

To the shield :

He runneth upon him with outstretched neck,
With the thick bosses of his shields, ch. xv. 26.

To the methods of attack, and the capture of a walled town :

He set me up for a mark.

His archers came around me ;

He transfixed my reins, and did not spare ;

My gall hath he poured out upon the ground.

He breaketh me with breach upon breach ;

He rusheth upon me like a mighty man. ch. xvi. 12-14.

To the iron weapon and the bow of brass

He shall flee from the iron weapon,

But the bow of brass shall pierce him through, ch. xx. 24.

To the works cast up by a besieging army for the annoyance of a
city by their weapons of war :

His troops advance together against me ;

They throw up their way against me,

And they encamp round about my dwelling, ch. xix. 12.

In this connection, also, should be mentioned the sublime descrip-
tion of the war-horse in ch. xxxix. 19, seq. The horse was undoubt-
edly used in war, and a more sublime description of this animal

CXU INTRODUCTION.

caparisoned for battle, and impatient for the contest, does not occur
in any language :

Hast thou given the horse his strength ?

Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?

Dost thou make him to leap as the locust ?

How terrible is the glory of his nostrils !

He paweth in tJie valley ; he exulteth in his strength ;

He goeth forth into the midst of arms.

He laugheth ?t fear, and is nothing daunted ;

And he turneth not back from the sword.

Upon him rattleth the quiver ;

The glittering spear and the lance.

In his fierceness and rage he devoureth the ground,

And will no longer stand still when the trumpet sounds.

When the trumpet sounds, he saith, 'Aha I'

And from afar he snuftetb the battle —

The war-cry of the princes, and the battle-shout.

XIV. ZOOLOGY.

The references to zoology in this book, which are numerous, and
which show that the habits of many portions of the animated crea-
tion had been observed with great care, may be ranked under the
heads of insects, reptiles, birds, and beasts.

1. Of insects, the only two that are mentioned are the spider and
the moth :

His hope shall rot,

And his trust shall be the building of the spider.

He shall lean upon his dwelling, and it shall not stand ;

He shall grasp it, but it shall not endure, eh. viii. 14, 15.

Behold, in his servants he putteth no confidence,

And his angels he chargeth with frailty ;

How much more true is this of those who dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust !

They are crushed before the moth-worm ! eh. iv. 18, 19.

He buildeth his house like the moth,

Or like a shed which the watchman maketh. ch. xxvii. 18.

2. Of reptiles, we find the asp and the viper mentioned :

He shall suck the poison of asps ;

The vipers tongue shall destroy him. ch xx 16.

3. The birds or fowls that are mentioned in this book, are much
more numerous. They are the following, nearly all so mentioned
as to show that their habits had been the subject of careful obser-
vation.

The vulture :

The path thereto no bird knovveth,

And the vnlliire's evn Imth not seen it. ch. xxviii. 7.

INTRODUCTION. CXlll

The raven :

Who provideth for the raven his food,

When his young ones cry unto God,

And wander for lack of food ? cli. xxxviii. 41.

The stork and the ostrich :

A wing of exulting fowls moves joyfully !

Is it the wing and j>lumage of the stork ?

For she leaveth her eggs upon the ground.

And upon the dust she warmeth them,

And forgetteth that her foot may crush them.

And that the wild beast may break them.

She is hardened towards her young, as if they were not hers;

In vain is her travail, and without solicitude ;

Because God hath withheld wisdom from her.

And hath not imparted to her understanding.

In the time when she raiseth herself up on high,

She laugheth at tlie horse and his rider, oh. xxxix. 13-18.

The eagle and the hawk :

Is it by thy understanding that the hawk flieth.

And spreadeth his wings toward the south ?

Is it at thy command that the eagle raounteth up,

And that he buildeth his nest on high ?

He inhabiteth the rock and abideth there —

Upon the crag of the rock, and the high fortress.

From thence he spieth out his prey.

His eyes discern it from afar.

His young ones greedily gulp down blood ;

And where the slain ore, there is he. ch. xxxix. 26-30.

4. The beasts that are mentioned are, also, quite numerous, and
the description of some of them constitutes the most magnificent
part of the poem. The descriptions of the various animals are also
more minute than any thing else referred to, and but a few of them
can be copied without transcribing whole chapters. The beasts
referred to are the following.

The camel, sheep, ox, and she-ass, ch. i. 3, xlii. 12.

The lion :
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion [are silenced],
And the teeth of young lions are broken out.
The old lion perishes for want of prey,
And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad, ch. iv. 10, 11.

The wild ass :

Doth the wild ass bray in the midst of grass ?
Or loweth the ox over his fodder.? ch. vi. 5.

Who hath sent forth the wild ass free ?
Or who hath loosed the bonds of the wild ass:'
Whose home I have made the wilderness,
And his dwellings the barren land.

CXIV INTRODUCTION.

He scorneth the uproar of the city ;

The cry of the driver he heedeth not.

The range of the mountains is his pasture :

He searchelh after every green thing, ch. xxxix. 5-3.

The dog :

But now they who are younger than I have me in derision,
Whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock

ch. XXX. 1.

The jackal :

I am become a brother to the jackal,

And a companion to the ostrich, ch. xxx. 29.

The mountain-goat and the hind :

Knowest Ihou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth ?

Or canst tliou observe the birth- throes of the hind.''

Canst thou number the months that they fulfil .'

Knowest thou the season when they bring forth .?

They bow themselves ; they give birth to their young;

They cast forth their sorrows.

Their young ones increase in strength,

They grow up in the wilderness.

They go from them, and return no more. ch. xxxix. 1-4

The unicorn :

Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee ?

Will he abide through the night at thy crib .'

Wilt thou bind him with his band to the furrow ?

And will he harrow the valleys after thee ?

Wilt thou trust him because his strength is great ?

Or wilt thou commit thy labor to him ?

Wilt thou have confidence in him to bring in thy grain ?

Or to gather it to thy threshing-floor ? ch. xxxix 9-12,

The war-horse, in a splendid passage already quoted, ch. xxxix.
19-25. And, finally, the behemoth or hippopotamus, and the levia-
than or crocodile, in ch. xl. 15-24, xli. — perhaps the most splendid
descriptions of animals to be found any where in poetry. For the
nature and habits of the animals there described, as well as of those
already referred to, the reader is referred to the Notes,

Such is a mere reference to the various topics of science and the
arts referred to in the book of Job. Though brief, yet they furnish
us with an invaluable account of the progress which society had
then made ; and in order to obtain an estimate of the state of the
world on these subjects at an early period, there is no better means
now at command than a careful study of this book. The scene of
the book is laid in the vicinity of those portions of the earth which
had made the greatest progress in science and the arts, and from this
poem we may learn with considerable accuracy, probably, what
advances had then been made in Babylon and in Egypt.

INTRODUCTION. CXV

§ 9. Exegetical helps to the hook of Job.

I. THE ANCIENT VERSIONS.

The Vulgate, Septuagint, Syriac, and the Chaldee Paraphrase.
For the general character of these versions, and their value in
interpreting the Old Testament, see Introduction to Isaiah, § 8.
Of the book of Job, the Vulgate is, in general, a very fair and cor-
rect version. The translation of the Septuagint is much inferior
to what it is on the Pentateuch, and some of the other books of the
Bible, though superior to the translation of Isaiah. There are
various attempts at explanation of difficulties in it, and statements
of things ^^ facts, for which there is no authority in the original —
showing that if these were inserted by the translators themselves,
there was an effort to make it as clear as possible. Whether these,
however, were inserted by the translators, or have been interpolated
by later hands, it is not easy now to determine. The same attempt
at explanation occurs, but much more frequently, in the Targum,
or Chaldee Paraphrase. In that work, however, this is much more
excusable than in what was designed as a strict translation, for the
word Targum {w^yy^ , interpretation, translation, explanation of one
language by another) will admit with propriety considerable lati-
tude of explanation in the attempt to render a work from one lan-
guage into another. See Buxtorf, Lex. Chald. Talmud. The old
Syriac version is literal, and, so far as I can judge, is incomparably
the best ancient version of the Scriptures which has been made.
Its aid is of great value in the exposition of the Bible.

II. HEBREW WRITERS.

Abraham Ben Juda, published under the name of cp^ "''mnn ,
i. e. Compositiones CollectancB, a commentary on the Prophets, Me-
gilloth, and Hagiographa, collected chiefly from Jarchi, Aben-Ezra,
and Levi Ben Gersom. 1593 and 1612. fol.

Abraham Ben Meir, Aben-Esrae, Commentary on Job. Found
in the Rabbinic editions of the Bible, Venice, 1525, 1526, Basle,
1618, 1619, and Amsterdam, 1724. ' In multifarious erudition,
nnd accurate knowledge of the Hebrew language, and in a happy
tact of hitting the sense of his author, Aben-Ezra greatly surpasses
all his contemporaries.' Rosenmiiller. He has made much use of
the Arabic language ; but on account of his conciseness, he is often
obscure.

Abraham Ben Mardochai Perizol, Commentary on Job in the
Bible published at Venice, 1517, and Amsterdam, 1724.

Isaac Cohen, Ben Schelomoh, Commentary on Job with the He-
brew text, Constantinople, 1545.

CXVl INTRODUCTION.

Isaac Ben Scbelomoh Jabez, who lived at Constantinople in the
16th century, also published a commentary on Job, inscribed rx"-i-i
•illl', ' The fear of the Almighty/ which is found in the edition of
the Bible at Amsterdam, 1724.

Levi Ben Gerschom, born 1288, died 1370. In 1326 he wrote a
commentary on Job, which was first published in 1477. It was
republished at Naples in 1487, and is found in the Rabbinical Bi-
bles. This is the most copious and clear of the Rabbinical coiu-
mentaries. He gives an explanation of the words and phrases in
the book, and accompanies it with a paraphrase.

Meir Ben Isaac Arama, born 1492, died at Thessalonica (556
He wrote a commentary on Job called nT^x n^x^s , ' Illustrating Job,'
which was published in fol. at Thessalonica, in 1516, and subse-
quently at Venice, 1567 and 1603.

Moseh Alscheh, of Galilee. He died about 1601. He wrote a
commentary on Job, called ppln?2 npbn , ' The Portion of the
Legislator.' It was published at Venice, 1603-4. Again in 1722
and 1725.

Moses Nachmanides. He lived in the 13th century. A com
mentary of his on Job is found in the Rabbinical Bible, Venice,
1517, and Amsterdam, 1724.

Obadiah Ben Jacob Sphorno. He wrote a commentary on Job
with the title, p"i:J liS^JJ'o , ' The Judgment of the Just.' Venice,
1590, and Amsterdam, 1724.

Scbelomoh Jarchi Ben Jizchak, commonly called Rasche. He
lived in Campania in the 11th century. His commentary on Job,
and on the other books of the Old Testament, is found in the
Rabbinical Bible published at Venice and Amsterdam. This work
of Jarchi is of great authority among the Hebrews. He has col-
lected and preserved most of the interpretations handed down by
tradition.

Scbelomoh Ben Melech. He lived at Constantinople in the 16th
century. He published a commentary on the whole of the Old
Testament under the title of "^Sl^ hb^^ , ' Perfection of Beauty.
Amsterdam, 1661 and 1663, fol. In this work he was much aided
by the celebrated David Kimchi.

Schimeon Ben Zemach Duran, a Spanish Jew of the 15th cen-
tury. He wrote a commentary on Job called as'dJia im.s , ' Loving
Judgment.' Venice, 1590-4.

III. THE FATHERS.

Catena in beatissimum Job absolutissima e xxiv Grjeciae docto-
rum explanationibus, contexta a Paulo Comitolo Perusiano.
Lyons, 1586, Venice, 1587.

INTRODUCTION. CXVU

The same published under the title of Catena Graecorum Patrum
in beatum Job, etc., by Niceta. He revised the work and amended
it, and greatly increased it. This was published under the care of
P. Junius, Royal Librarian, in London, 1637, fol.

Ephrem the Syrian. Commentary, or Scholia on Job, in Syriac.
Found in his works.

Jerome. Commentary found in his works. It is of very little
value. The principles of interpretation are fanciful. Jerome held
that Job was a type of Christ ; that the land of Uz represents the
Virgin Mary ; that his seven sons were the seven-form spirit of
grace ; that his daughters were the law, the prophets, and the gos-
pel ; that the sheep represented the church, and the camels the
depravity of the Gentiles ; the oxen, which are clean animals, rep-
resent the Jews ! Notes on ch. i. 6.

Augustine. Found in his works.

Philip, Presbyter, lived about A. D. 440. Basle, 1527. His
commentary is allegorical and mystical.

Gregory the Great, A. D. 590. Expositiones in Job. Rome,
1475. Paris, 1495, fol. ; and in French. Paris, 1666-1669.

IV. CATHOLIC VERSIONS AND COMMENTARIES.

Thomae De Vio Caietani (Cardinal and Bishop) Commentarii in
Librum Jobi, Rome, 1535, fol. Cardinal Cajetan was ignorant of
the Hebrew language, but a man of distinguished talent. Had he
been as much acquainted with the Hebrew, says Rosenmiiller, as
he was distinguished for genius and the power of judgment, he
would have greatly excelled all who went before him in the expli-
cation of Job.

Franc. Titelmanni, Elucidatio paraphastica in Jobum. Ant-
werp, 1547, 1550, 1553, 1556. Lyons, 1554.

Augustini Steuchi, Enarrationes in Librum Jobi. Venice, 1567.
He was well acquainted with the Hebrew and Chaldee languages.

Joa. Merceri Commentarii in Job. Geneva, 1573.

C. Sanctii Commentarius in Job. Lugd. Bat. 1625, fol.

Cypriani De Huerga, Commentaria in xviii. priora Capita Jobi.
1582, fol.

Didaci De Zuniga, Commentaria in Librum Jobi. Rome, 1591.
This professes to explain and reconcile the Hebrew, Latin Vulgate,
and Septuagint.

J. De Pineda, Commentariorum in Librum Jobi, Libri xiii.
With a paraphrase. 1597, 1602, fol. Often reprinted. 1600, 1605,
1613, 1609, 1619, 1627, 1631, 16S5, 1701, 1710. This work is
highly connnended by Schultens.

CXVlll INTRODUCTION.

Liber Job paraphrastice explicatus a Joanne a Jesu Maria.
Rome, 1611.

Jacobi Jansonii, Enarrationes in propheticiim Librum Job.
1623, 1643, fol.

Gasparis Sanctii, in Librum Job commentarii cum Paraphrasi
1625, fol. Lyons. 1712, Leipsic.

Jacob Bolducii, commentaria in Librum Job. Paris, ]638.

Balthas. Corderii Jobus explicatus. Antwerp, 1646 and 1656,
fol.

Philippi Codurci, Scbolia sen Adnotationes in Jobum. Paris,
1651.

Jobi brevi commentario et Metaphrasi poetica illustratus, Scrip-
sit Franciscus Vavassor. Paris, 1638.

Analyse du livre de Job (par Laur. Daniel). Lyon, 1710.

Le-Livre de Job, selon la Vulgate, Paraphrase, avec des re-
marques, par Jean Hardouin. 2 vol. Paris, 1729.

Explication du Livre de Job. etc. 4 vol. Paris, 1732.

II Libro de Giobbe dal testo ebreo in versi Italiani dalP Giacinto
Ceruti. Rome, 1773.

V. PROTESTANT VERSIONS AND COMMENTARIES.

Jo. Bugenhagii, Adnotationes in Jobum. 1526.

Mart. Buceri, Commentaria in librum Job. 1228, fol.

Jo. Oecolampadii, Exegemata in Job et Danielem. Basle, 1532,
1533, 1536. Geneva, 1532, 1533, 1567, 1578, fol. French at
Geneva, 1562.

Mart. Borrhai, alias Cellarii, Commentarius in Jobum. 1532,
1539, 1610.

Reinhardi I^utzi, Adnotationes in Librum Jobi. i539, 1563.

Jo. Calvini, Conciones in Jobum. 1569, 1593. French, 1563,
1611. German, 1587. English, London, 1584, fol.

Victorini Strigellii, Liber Job, ad Ebraicam veritatem recognitus,
et Argumentis atque Scholiis illustratus. 1566, 1571.

Ivan. Merceri, Commentarii in Librum Job. Geneva, 1573, fol.
With a letter from Beza appended.

Jobus Commentario et Paraphrasi illustratus a Theodoro Beza.
Geneva, 1583, 1589, 1599, 1600.

Roberti Rolloci (a minister at Edinburgh) commentarius in
Jobum. Geneva, 1610.

Jo. Piscatoris, Commentarius in Librum Job. 1612.

Joh. Drusius, Nova Versio et Scholia in Jobum. Amsterdam,
1636. A posthumous work.

Explications sur le livre de Job, Pseaumes, Proverbes, Ecclesi-
aste, et Cantique, par Jean Diodati. Geneva, 1638.

INTRODUCTION. CXIX

Exposition of the Book of Job, by George Abbott. London,
1640.

Abbott's Paraphrase of the Book of Job. 1640, 4to. It is form
ed on the basis of the English version, and contains no notes.

Christophori SchuUeti, Analysis typica concionum habitarum in
Job, etc. 1647, fol.

Joh. Cocceii, Commentarius in Librum Jobi. 1644, fol. ' A
diffuse work, and filled with numerous disputations merely theolo-
gical.' Roscnmiillcr.

Jo. Meiern, Commentaria in Job, Proverbia, Ecclesiasten, et in
Canticum Canticorum. 1651, fol.

Ed. Leigh, Annotations on the five poetical Books of the Old
Testament. London, 1657, fol.

Terenti, Liber Jobi, Chald. Grsec. et. Lat. 1663, 4to.

Spanheim, Historia Jobi. 1672.

Joh. cour. Zelleri, Auslegung des Biichleins Hiob. Hamburgh,
1667.

Exposition of the Book of Job, being the sum of 316 Lectures,
by George Hutcheson (of Edinburgh). London, 1669, fol.

Caryl's Exposition of the Book of Job, two vols. fol. 1669. This
work was originally published in six vols. 4to. " The author was a
respectable scholar, a useful preacher, and an exemplary man. He
was a non-conformist minister. He was concerned in an English-
Greek Lexicon." The work is too voluminous to be much con-
sulted, or to be generally useful.

Sebast. Schmidii in Librum Jobi Commentarius, etc. 1670, ] 680,
1690, 1705. Commended by Schultens for the careful comparison
of the different versions, the accurate examination of words, and
the clearness of the method. There is, however, too constant a
reference to theological questions debated in the time of the author
between the Lutherans and the Reformed.

Petr. Van Hoecke on Job. Leyden, 1697.

Theod. Antonis (a Dutch commentator) on Job. Frankfort,
1702. He holds that the book of Job is a representation or a type
of the church in its afflictions and persecutions.

A Paraphrase on the Book of Job, by Richard Blackmore.
London, 1700.

Das Buch Hiob aus dem Hebraischen Grundtext aufs neue
getreulich ins Teusche ubersetzt u. s. w, von Renato Andrea Kor-
tiim. Leips. 1708.

Pauli Egerdi, Erlauterung des Buches Hiob, u. s. w. von Joh.
Hein. Michaelis. 1716. Published after the death of the au-
thor.

Animadversiones philologicae in Jobum, etc. Auc. Albert
Schultens. 1708.

CXX INTRODUCTION.

Joh. Hen. Michaelis, Notae uberiores in Librum Jobi, in vol. ii.
of his Annotations on the Hagiographa. Halle, 1720.

Herm. Von der Hardt, on Job. 1728, fol.

Jobi Physica Sacra, oder Hiobs Naturwissenschaft verglichen
rnit der heutigen, von Joh. Jac. Scheutzer. 1721. The author
sometimes attributes views of science to the speakers in the book
of Job which there is no certain evidence that they possessed. Still
the work of Scheutzer contains much that is valuable. It extends
to the whole Bible, and is in 8 vols. fol. in Latin and German, with
numerous valuable plates.

Theodore de Hase, de Leviathan Jobi et Ceto Jonae. Bremen,
1723, 8vo.

Le Livre de Job, traduit en Francois, sur 1' original Hebrew, par
Theod. Criusoz. Rotterdam, 1729.

Veteris Testamenti Libri Hagiographi, ex translatione Joannis
Clerici. Amsterdam, 1731, fol. He regards the book of Job as
written after the return from the Babylonish exile.

Annotations on the Book of Job and the Psalms, by Thomas
Fenton. London, 1732.

Joh. Adolf Hofifmaus Neue Erklarung des Buchs Hiob u. s. w.
Hamburgh, 1734. This work professes to illustrate Job from the
remains of antiquity, and from the Oriental philosophy. The au-
thor found deep mysteries in the book, and is much addicted to ihe
allegorical mode of interpretation. The work is now of little
value.

Samuel Wesley Dissertationes et conjecturae in Librum Jobi,
tabulis geographicis et figuris aenis illustratee. London, 1736, fol.

Liber Jobi, cum nova versione, ad Hebraeum fontem, et com-
mentario perpetuo, in quo veterum et recentiorum interpretum cogi-
tata praecipua expenduntur ; genuinus sensus ad priscum linguae
genium indagatur, atque ex filo, et nexu universo, argumenti nodus
intricatissimus evolvitur. Curavit et editit, Albertus Schultens.
Ludg. Batav. 1737. The same work abridged by Richard Grey,
London, 1741, 8vo. ; and a more full abridgment, Halae, 1773, 4,
Svo, This great work of Schultens on Job deserves the first place,
on many accounts, in the list of those illustrative of this book. It
is the most elaborate commentary which has been published, and
contains a full statement of the opinions which have been enter-
tained by critics on different parts of the work. Schultens brought to
the interpretation of the book of Job a more accurate and extensive
knowledge of the Hebrew and Arabic than was possessed by any
one who preceded him in this department of labor. The leading
faults of the work are, a too minute and tedious detail of the opinions
of other commentators — amounting in many instances to a statement
of more than twenty opinions on the meaning of a verse or phrase,

INTRODUCTION, CXXl

and, in determining the meaning of Hebrew words, too great a
proneness to rely on etymological conjectures.

Liber Jobi in versiculas metrice divisus, cum versione Alberti
Schultens Notisque ex ejus Commentario excerptis. Richard
Grey. London, 1741.

Sigmund Jacob Baumgartens Auslegung des Buchs Hiob. Halle,
1740.

Recht beleuchtetes Buch Hiobs, mit vielen dabey gemachten
neuen Entduckungen, nothigen Anmerkungen und erbaulichen
Nutzanwendungen. Herausgegeben von Jacob Koch. 1743, 44, 47.

Kleine Geographisch-historische Abhandlungen zur Erlauterung
einiger Stellen Mosis und voniehmlich des ganzen Buchs Hiob.
von Jac Koch. 1747.

Costard's Observations on the Book of Job. 1747, 8vo.

A Dissertation on the Book of Job, &c., by John Garnett, D. D.,
quarto, London, 1749. According to Garnett, the book of Job is
a drama, or allegory ; the Babylonish captivity is the main subject
of the allegory ; the three friends who came to visit Job are the
children of Edom coming to condole with the Hebrews in their
captivity. The work is of very little value.

Das richte Gericht in dem kurz und verstandlich erklarten.
ubersetzten und zurgliederten Buch Hiob u. s. w. durch Christoph
Friedrich Oetinger. 1743.

Elihu, or an inquiry into the principal scope and design of the
Book of Job, by Walter Hodges, D. D. London, quarto, 1750.
According to Dr. Hodges, the book of Job relates to patriarchal
times, and the design is to give a summary of the patriarchal reli-
gion. The particular purpose of the book, according to the view
of this author, is, to reveal and establish the doctrine of justifica-
tion. Job was a type of the Saviour, and by Job's friends being
directed to oifer sacrifices for themselves, is " intimated that each
national church ought to have an independent power in such mat-
ters." In the opinion of this author, Elihu was the Son of God him-
self! The nature and value of the work may be easily seen from
these views. The author was a divine of the Hutchinsouian school.

A commentary on the Book of Job, in which is inserted the He-
brew text and English Translation : with a Paraphrase from the 3d
verse of the 3d chapter to the 7th verse of the 42d chapter. In
two vols. 4to. By Leonard Chappelow, D. D., Arabic Professor in
the University of Cambridge. Cambridge, 1752.

Observationes Miscellanai in Librum Job, etc., by David Renat.
Bouillier. Amsterdam, 1758.

Tlie Divine Legation of Moses demonstrated, by Bishop Warbur-
ton. 175S. In this great wi rk there is an examination of the book
of Job which has attracted much attention on account of the learn^

6

CXXU INTRODUCTION. ^

ing and talent of the author. The theory of Warburton is, thai
the book of Job is a drama ; that it relates to the Jews in the time
of the captivity ; that it was written some time between the return
and tlie thorough settlement of the Jews in their own land ; that the
drama is allegorical in its character ; that the character of Job is
designed to represent the Jewish people ; that his wife is a repre-
sentation of the heathen influence which led the Hebrews on their
return to marry ' strange wives ;' that the three friends of Job repre-
sent the three capital enemies of the Jews who hindered their efforts
to rebuild the temple on their return from Babylon, Sanballat, To-
biah, and Geshem ; that under the character of Elihu the writer or
author of the poem is himself designated. Div. Lega. B. vi. § 2.
After the view which Bishop Warburton gives of the Book of Job,
there is more real point and force than he himself intended in what
he says in a letter to his friend Dr. Ilurd. " Poor Job ! It was
his eternal fate to be persecuted by his friends. His three friends
passed sentence of condemnation upon him, and he has been execu-
ted in effigy ever since. He was lirst bound to the stake by a long
catena of Greek Fathers ; then tortured by Pineda ; then strangled
by Caryl ; and afterwards cut up by Wesley and anatomized by
Garnett. I only acted the tender part of his wife, and was for
making short work with him. But he was ordained, I think, by a
fate like that of Prometheus, to lie still upon his dunghill, and to
have his brains sucked out by owls."

An Essay towards a new English version of the Book of Job from
the original Hebrew, with a commentary, and some account of his
life. By Thomas Heath, Esq., of Exeter. Quarto. London,
1756. There is little in this work that can now be regarded as of
value. The knowledge of Hebrew by the author was quite limit-
ed, and the notes throw little light on the meaning of the text.

A Critical Dissertation on the Book of Job, by Charles Peters,
A. M. London, 1751, quarto. This work is designed particularly
to examine the theory of Bishop Warburton ; to vindicate the anti-
quity of the book ; to show that the passage in ch. xix. 25-27 refers
to the resurrection and the future judgment ; and that the doctrine
of the future state was the popular belief among the Hebrews. It
is a work of considerable learning and value. It contains much
valuable matter, though all its reasonings may not be satisfactory.

Paraphrastische Erkliirung des Buchs Hiob, von Joh. Fried.
Bahrdt. Leips. 1764.

Das Buch Hiob, in einer poetischen Uebersetzung nach Schul-
tens Erklarung mit Anmerkungen, von Simon Grynaeus. 1767.

Joh. Dav. Cube poetische und prosaische Uebersetzung des
Buchs Hiob. Berlin, 1769 -71, 3 vols. 8vo.

Paul Bauldri. Critical Remarks on Job.

INTRODUCTION. CXXIU

Kurze doch griindliche Erklarung des Buchs Hiob, u. s. w. von

Job, Georg. Meintel. Niirnberg, 1771.

Veltliusen, Exercitationes CriticaB in Joburn, cap. xix. 1772,
12mo.

Scott's Book of Job in English verse, with Notes. 1773, 8vo.
'' A very valuable work." JVcim/ss.

Metaphrais libri Jobi, sive Job nietricus, vario carminis genere,
primo ejulans, post jubilans, interprete Jo. Georg. Meintel. 1775.

Versuch einer neuen poetischen Uebersetzung des Buches Hiob,
u. s. w. von J. C. R. Eckermann. 177S.

Animadversiones in Librum Job. Scripsit Jas. Christ. Rud.
Eckermann. Lubeck, 1779.

Jo. Christoph. Doederlin Scholia in libros vet. Testain. poeticas,
Jobum, Psalmos, et tres Salomonis. Halle, 1779.

Joa. Jac. Reiske conjecturae in Jobum et Proverbia Salomonis.
Leips. 1779. He takes great liberty with the Hebrew text, trans-
(josing, changing, or rejecting v»'hole verses at pleasure

Hiob, iibersetzt von Dan. Gotthilf Moldenhawer. Leips. 1780.

Das Buch Hiob zum allgemeinen Gebrauch, von Heinr. Sander
Leips, 1780, 8vo,

Hiob, neu iibersetzt mit Anmerkungen, von W. F. Hufnagel
1781, 8vo.

Hiob, aus dem Hebraischen Original neu iibersetzt, u. s. \v. von
Christ. Dav. Kessler. 1784, 8vo.

Hiob, aus dem Hebraischen Original neu iibersetzt uiid mit
erklarenden Anmerkungen versehen, zum allgemeinen Gebrauch,
von €hr Dan. Kessler. Tubingen, 1784, 8vo.

Greve,- Ultima Capita Jobi. 1788, 4to.

Jobi, antiquissimi carminis hebraici, natura atque virtus. Scrip-
sit Car. Dav. Ilgen. Leips. 1789, 8vo.

Jobus, Proverbia Salomonis, etc. a Joh. Aug. Dathio. Halle,
1789, 8vo.

Job oversat [with brief critical and philological remarks], by
And. Heins. In the Dutch language. Amsterdam, 1794, 8vo.

Het Bock Job, etc. [also in the Dutch language.] By Herrman
Muiitinghe. Amsterdam, 1794, 8vo.

Garden's improved version of the Book of Job. 1796, 8vo.

The same work translated into German by J. P. Berg. Leips.
1797, Svo.

Hiob, iibersetzt ^ ein Versuch von Samuel Christian Pape. Got-
linjren, 1797, Svo.

Das Buch Hiob metrisch ubersetzt. Ein Versuch von A. S.
Clock. Ratzeburg, 1799, Svo.

Hiob, iibersetzt von J. G. Eichhorn. Leips. 1800, Svo. NeuQ
verbesserte Ausonbe. G^ttingen, 1824.

CXXiy INTRODUCTION.

Exegetische und kritische versuche uber die schwersten steilen
des Biichs Hiob. Leips. 1801, 8vo.

Discourses and Dissertations on the Scriptural Doctrine ot'
Atonement and Sacrifice. By William Magee, D. D. 1801. In
this important work on the atonement, there is a very valuable dis-
sertation on the book of Job. Bishop Magee supposes that Moses
was the author, or that it was written by Job himself, or by some
contemporary, and that it fell into the hands of Moses, and was
adopted by him as an important help to encourage the Israelites in
their trials.

Die heilige Schrift des Alten Testaments, zweiten Theils. drit-
ten Bandes zweite Haifte. welche das Buch Hiob euthalt. von D.
Brentano und Th. A. Dereser. Frankfort, 1804, 8vo.

Hiob. Ein religioses Gedicht Aus dem Hebraischen neu ijber-
setzt, gepriift und erlaubert von Matthias Heinr. Stuhlmann.
Hamburg, 1804, 8vo.

Stock's Book of Job ; a new version, with Notes. 1805, 4to.
See this work examined with great severity in Magee on the Atone-
ment.

Pareuu, Commentatio, &:,c. 1807, 8vo.

Das Buch Hiob, bearbeitet von Gaab. Tiibingen, i809, 8vo.

Die Schriften des Alten Testaments. Neu ubersetzt von J. C.
W. Augusti und W. M. L. de Wette. Dritter Band. Hiob. Hei-
delberg, 1809, 8vo.

Jobus Latine vertit, et annotatione perpetua, illustravit, Ern._
Frid. Car. Rosonmi'iller, Ling. Arab, in Acad. Leips. Prof Leips.
18C6. The commentary of Rosenmiiller is, on the whole, proba-
bly the most valuable of all the expositions of this book. One who
wishes to eiplain and uiuhrstand the book of Job will find more
valuable materials collected there than in any other of the commen-
taries. Nothing is passed over without an attempt at explanation ;
and nothing collected by his predecessors that would throw light on
the meaning of the book, seems to have been unnoticed by him.
For the most part, also, the exposition is distinguished by sound
sense, by correct and sober views, as well as by eminent learning.

The Book of Job, translated by Eliz. Smith. 1810, 8vo. "This
work was completed before the twenty-sixth year of the authoress,
with little help except from Parkhurst's Lexicon, and the revision
of her friend Dr. Randolph, who annexed to it a few critical notes.
She left a fine example to her sex ; and though self-taught, with
little access to books, she left behind her some monuments of
learning and piety calculated to make many blush for their own
idleness." \Vcmyss.

The Book of Job literally translated from the original Hebrew,
and restored to its natural arrangement, wit!i notes critical and

INTRODUCTION. CXXV

illustrative, and an introduction on its scene, scope, language, au-
thor, and object. By John Mason Good, F. R. S., &c. J 8 12.
The 'Introduction' by Dr. Good is very valuable. In the Notes
there is much learning, but it is more extensive than accurate.
The translation cannot be relied on as correct. The work, how-
ever, is a valuable contribution to sacred literature, and deserves a
place in every theological library.

Das Buch Hiob, aus dem Grundtext metrisch iibersetzt und
erlautert von J. Rud. Scharer. Bern, 1818, 8vo.

Bridel, Le Livre de Job. J818, 8vo.

Hiob, fur gebildete Leser bearbeitet von C. G. A. Bockel. Ber-
lin, 1821, 8vo.

Das Buch Hiob, aus dem Hebraischen metrisch ijbersetzt und
durch kurze philologische Anmerkungen erlautert von L. F Mel-
sheimer. Mannheim, 1823.

Buch Hiob. Uebersetzung und Anslegung, von D. Friedrich
Wilhelm Carl Umbreit, Professor an der Universitat zu Heidelberg.
Heidelberg, 1824, 8vo. This is the production of an acute and
sharp-sighted critic. The translation is very accurate, and the
Notes, though brief, are very valuable. The Introduction is less
brief than is desirable, and the views maintained in it are not such
as seem to me to be correct. Trans. Edin Bib. Cab, vs. 16, 19.

A new translation of the Book of Job, with an Introduction and
Notes chiefly explanatory. By George R. Noyes. Cambridge, 1827;
2d ed. Boston, 1838. This is an elegant and a very accurate trans-
lation. Dr. Noyes is an Unitarian, but neither in this work nor in the
translation of Isaiah, have I observed any attempt to accommodate
the translation to the views of that denomination. His aim has
evidently been to give the exact sense of the original, and this, so
far as I can judge, has been accomplished with great accuracy.
The Notes are very brief, but they are pithy and valuable. The
Introduction is less valuable than the other parts of the work.

MiddledorfF, curae Hexaplares in Jobum. 1817. 4to.

The Book of the Patriarch Job, translated from the original
Hebrew, as nearly as possible, in the terms and style of the autho-
rized English version, to which is prefixed an introduction on the
History, Times, Country, Friends, and Book of the Patriarch, &c.
By Samuel Lee, D. D., etc. London, 1837. This work is not
what might have been expected from the learning and reputation
of Prof. Lee. It abounds with Arabic learning, which is scattered
with ostentatious profuseness through the volume, but which often
contributes little to the elucidation of the text. It is designed for
the cr'itical scholar rather than the general reader.

Job and his times, or a picture of the Patriarchal age during the
period between Noah and Abraham, as regards the state of moral-

CXXVl INTRODUCTION.

ity, arts and sciences, manners and customs, &c., and a new ver-
sion of that most ancient poem, accompanied with Notes and Dis-
sertations. The whole adapted to the English reader. By Thomas
Wemyss, author of Biblical Gleanings, Symbolical Dictionary, and
other works. London, 1839. This is designed to be a popular
work. It is not so much of the nature of a commentary as a collec-
tion of fragments and brief essays on various topics referred to in
the book of Job. It is chiefly valuable from its illustration of the
religion of the time of Job, the arts and sciences, the manners and
customs, &/C. It lacks lucid arrangement, and furnishes compara-
tively little illustration of the difficulties of the text.

Book of Job, translated from the Hebrew. Bath, 1825. 8vo.

Levavasseur, Le Livce de Job, &c. Paris, 1826. 8vo.

A new Translation and Exposition of the very ancient Book of
Job, with Notes Explanatory and Philological. By the R&)?. John
Fry, B. A, London, 1827. 8vo.

GENERAL ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK OF JOB.

PART FIRST.
The Historical Introduction, in Prose, Chs. I. II.

PART SECOND.
The Argument, or Controversy, in Verse, Chs. III. — XLII. 6.
I. The first series in the controversy, chs. iii.-xiv.

(1.) Job opens the discussion by cursing his birth-day, and by a
bitter complaint of his calamity, ch. iii.

(2.) Speech of Eliphaz, chs. iv. v.
(3.) Answer of Job, chs. v. vi.

(4.) Speech of Bildad, ch. viii.
(5.) Answer of Job, chs. ix. x.

(6.) Speech of Zophar, ch. xi.
(7.) Answer of Job, chs. xii.-xiv.

II. The second series in the controversy, chs. xv.-xxi.
(1.) Speech of Eliphaz, ch. xv.

(2.) Answer of Job, chs. xvi. xvii.

(3.) Speech of Bildad, ch. xviii.
(4.) Answer of Job, ch. xix.

(5.) Speech of Zophar, ch. XX.
(6.) Answer of Job, ch. xxi

III. The third series in the controversy, chs. xxii.-xxxi.
(1.) Speech of Eliphaz, ch. xxii.

(2.) Answer of Job, chs. xxiii. xxiv.

(3.) Speech of Bildad, ch. xxv.

(4.) Answer of Job, chs. xxvi.-xxxi.

IV. Speech of Elihu, chs. xxxii.-xxxviii.

V. The close of the discussion, chs. xxxviii.-xlii. 1-6
(I.) The speech of the Almighty, chs. xxxviii.-xli.
(2.) The response and penitent confession of Job, ch. xlii. 1-6.

PART THIRD.
The Conclusion, in Prose, Cn. XLII. 7-17.

THE BOOK OF JOB.

CHAPTER I.

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER.

Brief history of Job ; his piety and prosperity, vs. 1—5. The tribunal of the Almighty, and
the assembling there of the sons of God. Satan appears among them, ver. 6. The inquiry
of the Almighty of Satan where he had been, and his answer, ver. 7. His remark respecting
the fidelity of Job, ver. 8. Satan insinuates that all his fidelity is the mere result of self-
ishness, produced by the favors that God had bestowed on him, and that if his blessings were
taken away he would curse God to his face, vs. 10, 11. The Almighty consents to tlie trial
of Job, only making it a condition that his person should not be touched, ver. 12, and Satan
goes out from the presence of Jehovah to afflict Job. The calamities that came upon the
family of Job, vs. 13—19. Job's deep affliction, but perfect resignation, vs. 20 22.

T^HERE was a man in the
-^ land of " Uz, whose name
was Job ; * and that man was per-

1 Moses is thought to have wrote the Book

CHAPTER I.

There was a man. This has all the
appearance of being a true history.
Many have regarded the whole book
as a fiction, and have supposed that
no such person as Job ever lived. But
the book opens with the appearance
of reality ; and the express declara-
tion that there was such a man,
the mention of his name and of the
place where he lived, show that
the writer meant to affirm that there
was in fact such a man. On this
question see the Introduction, § 1.
IT In the land of Uz. On the ques-
tion where Job lived, see also the In-
troduction, § 2. IT Whose name was
Job. The name Job (Heb. ni'^i?, Gr.
'J(t)l3) means properly, according to
Gesenius, one persecuted, from a
root C^"!^) meaning to be an en-
emy to any one, to persecute, to
hate. The primary idea, according
to Gesenius, is to be sought in breath-
ing, blowing, or puffing at or upon
any one, as expressive of anger or
hatred, Germ. Anschnauhen. Eich-
norn (Einleit. § 638. 1,) supposes

feet and upright, and one that
* feared God, and eschewed evil.

■)h, whilst among the Midianites, B. C. 1520
1 Ch. 1. 17, 49. La. 4. 21. b Eze. 14.

of Job

14, 20.

c Pr. 16. 6.

that the name denotes a man who
turns himself penitently to God,
from a sense of the verb still
found in Arabic ^^|| to repent.
On this supposition, the name was
given to him, because, at the close
of the book, he is represented as
exercising repentance for the im-
proper expressions in which he had
indulged during his sufferings. The
verb occurs only once in the He-
brew Scriptures, Ex. xxiii. 22 :
"But if thou shalt indeed obey hig
voice, and do all that I speak, then
/ will be an enemy C^Pl^^X"]) unto
thine enemies (T]i^'ik"ni<)." The
participle ^)]15< Oyeb is the common
word to denote an enemy in the
Old Testament. Ex. xv. 6, 9. Lev.
xxi. 25. Num. xxxv. 23. Deut.
xxxii. 27, 42. Ps. vii. 5, viii. 2,
xxxi. 8. Lam. ii. 4, 5. Job xiii. 24,
xxvii. 7, xxxiii. 10, et scepe al. If
this be the proper meaning of the
word Job., then the name would
seem to have been given him by
anticipation, or by common consent,

JOB.

as a much persecuted man. Significant
names were very common among the
Hebrews — given either by anticipa-
tion (see Notes on Isa. viii. 18), or sub-
sequently, to denote some leading
or important event in the life.
Comp. Gen. iv. 1, 2, 25, v. 29. 1
Sam. i. 20. Such, too, was the case
among the Romans, where the ag-
novicn thus bestowed became the ap-
pellation by which the individual
was best known. Cicero thus re-
ceived his name from a wart which
he had on his face, resembling a. vetch,
and which was called by the Lat-
ins, ctcer. Thus also Marcus had
the name Ancus, from the Greek
word arxu)v, aticon, because he had
a crooked arm ; and thus the names
Africanus, Germanicus, &c., were
given to generals who had distin-
guished themselves in particular
countries. See Univer. His. Anc.
Part. ix. 619, ed. 8vo, Lend. 1779.
In like manner it is possible that
the name Job was given to the Emir
of Uz by common consent, as the
man much persecuted or tried, and
that this became afterwards the ap-
pellation by which he was best
known. The name occurs once as
applied to a son of Issachar, Gen.
xl vi . 13, and in only two other places in
the Bible except in this book ; Ezek.
xiv. 14. James v. 11. IT Aid titatman
7oas perfect' (l^Pj). The LXX have
greatly expanded this statement, by
giving a paraphrase instead of a trans-
lation. "He was a man who was
true (^alriO-irbq), blameless (^a/ne-
fiTTToq), just (diy.aioq), pious (&-e-
oof^ijq), abstaining from every evil
deed." Jerome renders it, siinplex —
simple, or sincere. The Chaldee,
^'^^^ i complete, finished, perfect. The
idea seems to be that his piety, or
moral character, was proportionate
and was complete in all its parts. He
was a man of integrity in all the re-
lations of life — as an Emir, a father,
a husband, a worshipper of God.
Such is properly the meaning of the
word tsn tdm as derived from D^^
tdrndm, to complete, to make full,

perfect or entire, or to finish. It de-
notes that in which there is no part
lacking to complete the whole — as in
a watch in which no wheel is wanting.
Thus he was not merely upright as
an Emir, but he was pious towards
God ; he was not merely kind to his
family, but he was just to his neigh-
bors and benevolent to the poor. The
word is used to denote integrity as
applied to the heart. Gen. xx. 5 :

"^^^t ^^-^^ " I^^ t'i6 honesty, simplici-
ty, or sincerity of my heart (see the
margin) have I done this." So 1
Kings xxii. 34, "One drew a bow
iian? in the simplicity [or perfection]
of his heart;" i. e. without any evil
intention. Comp. 2 Sam. xv. 11.
Prov. X. 9. The proper notion, there-
fore, is that of simplicity, sincerity,
absence from guile or evil intention,
and completeness of parts in his re-
ligion. That he was a man absolutely
sinless, or without any propensity to
evil', is disproved alike by the spirit of
complaining which he often evinces,
and by his own confession, ch. ix. 20 :

If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall
condemn me ;

If I say I am perfect, it shall prove mo per-
verse.

So also ch. xlii. 5, 6 :

1 have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,
But now mine eye seeth thee ;
Wherefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.

Comp. Eccl. vii. 20. IT Aiid upright.
The word "i^^ 7jdshdr, from ^^J;; yd-
shar, to be sti-aight, is applied often to
a road which is straight, or to a path
which is level or even. As here used
it means upright or righteous. Comp.
Ps. xi. 7, xxxvii. 14. Deut. xxxii. 4.
Ps. xxxiii. 4. TT And one that feared
God. Religion in the Scriptures is
often represented as the fear of God.
Prov. i. 7, 29, ii. 5, iii. 13, xiv. 26, 27.
Isa. xi. 2. Acts ix. 31, et scepe at.
IT And eschewed evil. ' And departed
from O^) evil.' Sept. ' Abstaining
from evei-y evil thing.' These then are
the four characteristics of Job's piety
— he was sincere ; upright ; a worship-
per of God; and one who abstained

CHAPTER I.

2 And there were born unto
hims3vensons und three daugh-
ters.

3 His 'substance also was sev-
en thousand sheep, and three
thousand camels, and five hun-

from all wrong. These are the essen
tial elements of true religion every-
where ; and the whole statement in
the book of Job shows that Job was,
though not absolutely free from the
sins which cleave to our nature, emi-
nent in each of these things.

2. And there were born unto him
seven S07is and three daughters. The
same number was given to him again
after these were lost, and his se-
vere trials had been endured. See
ch. xlii. 13. Of his second family the
names of the daughters are mention-
ed, ch. xlii. 14. Of his first, it is re-
markable that neither the names of
his wife, his sons nor his daughters
are recorded. The Chaldce, however,
on what authority is unknown, says,
that the name of his wife was
^3^^ Dinah, ch. ii- 9.

3. His substance. Marg. or cattle.
The word here used O^^'R'^.) is derived
from "^Jl^j kdndh, to gain or acquire,
to buy or purchase, and properly
means any thing acquired or pur-
chased— property, possessions, riches.
The wealth of nomadic tribes, how-
ever, consisted mostly in flocks and
herds, and hence the word in the
Scriptures signifies, almost exclusive-
ly, property in cattle. The word,
says Gesenius, is used strictly to
denote sheep, goats, and neat cattle,
excluding beasts of burden (comp.
Gr. xrijvoq, herd, used here by the
LXX), though sometimes the word in-
cludes asses and camels, as in this
place. H Seven thousand sheep. In this
verse we have a description of the
wealth of an Arab ruler or chief, simi-
lar to that of those who are at this day
called Emirs. Indeed the whole de-
scription in the book is that which is
applicable to the chief of a tribe.
The possessions referred to in this

dred yoke of oxen, and five hun-
dred she-asses, and a very great
^household; so that this man was
the greatest of all the ^ men of the
east.

1 or, cattle.

'. or, husbandry. 3 sons.

verse would (constitute no inconsider-
able wealth anywhere, and particu-
larly in the nomadic tribes of the
East. Land is not mentioned as a part
of his wealtli ; for among nomadic
tribes living by pasturage, the right
to the soil in fee simple is not claim
ed by individuals, the right of pastur-
age or a temporary possession being
all that is needed. For the same rea-
son, and from the fact that their cir-
cumstances require them to live in
movable tents, houses are not men-
tioned as a part of the wealth of this
Emir. To understand this book, as
well as most of the books of the Old
Testament, it is necessary for us to
lay aside our notions of living, and
transfer ourselves in imagination to
the very dissimilar customs of the
East. — The Chaldee has made a very
singular explanation of this verse,
which must be regarded as the work
of fancy, but which shows the char-
acter of that version : "And his pos-
sessions were seven thousand sheep
— a thousand for each of his sons ;
and three thousand camels — a thou-
sand for each of his daughters; and
five hundred yoke of oxen — for him-
self; and five hundred she-asses — for
his wife." TT And three thousand cam-
els. Camels are well known beasts of
burden, extensively used still in Ara-
bia. The Arabs employed these ani-
mals anciently in war, in their cara-
vans, and for food. They are not unfre-
quently called " ships of the desert,'
particularly valuable in arid plains be-
cause they go many days without wa-
ter. They carry from thi*ee to five hun-
dred pounds, in proportion to the dis-
tance which they have to travel. Prov-
idence has adapted the camel with
wonderful wisdom to sandy deserts,
and in all ages the camel must be an in-
valuable possession there. The driest

6

JOB.

thistle and the barest thorn is all the
food that he requires, and this he
eats while advancing on his journey
without stopping or causing a mo-
ment's delay. As it is his lot to cross
immense deserts where no water is
found, and where no dews fall, he is
endowed with the power of laying in
a store of water that will suffice him
for days — Bruce says for thirty days.
To effect this, nature has provided
large reservoirs or stomachs within
him, where the water is kept pure,
and from which he draws at pleasure
as from a fountain. No other animal
is endowed with this power, and
were it not for this, it would be wholly
impracticable to cross those immense
plains of sand. The Arabians, the
Persians, and others, eat the flesh of
camels, and it is served up at tlie best
tables in t!ie country. One of the an-
cient Arab poets, whose hospitality
grew into a proverb, is reported to
have killed yearly, in a certain month,
ten camels every day for the enter-
tainment of his friends. In regard to
the hardihood of camels, and their
ability to live on the coarsest fare,
Curcichardt has stated a fact which
,may furnish an illustration. In a jour-
ney which he made from the country
south of the Dead Sea to Egypt, he
says, " During tl)e whole of this jour-
ney, the camels had no other proven-
der than the withered shrubs of the
desert, my dromedary excepted, to
which I gave a few handfuls of bar-
ley each evening." Trav. in Syria,
p. 451. Comp. Bruce's Travels, vol. iv.
p. 596. INiebuhr, Reisebeschreibung
nach Arabien, 1 Band, s. 215. San-
dys, p. 138 . Ilarmer's Obs. iv. 415,
ed. Lond. 1808, 8vo ; and Rob. Cal.
TI Avd five hundred yoke of oxen.
The fact that Job had so many oxen
implies that he devoted himself to
the cultivation of the soil as well as
to keeping flocks and herds. Comp.
vor. 14. So large a number of oxen
would constitute wealth anywhere.
H And five hundred she-asses. Bryant
remarks (Observations, p. 61), that a
great part of the wealth of the in-
habitants of the East often consisted

of she-asses, the males being few and
not held in equal estimation. She-
asses are early mentioned as having
been in common use to ride on ; Num.
xxii. 23. Judges v. 10. 2 Kings iv.
24 (Hebrew). One reason why the
ass was chosen in preference to the
horse, was, that it subsisted on so
much less than that animal, there be-
ing no animal except the camel that
could be so easily kept as the ass
She-asses were also regarded as the
most valuable, because, in traversing
the deserts of the country they would
furnish travellers with milk. It is
remarkable that coics are not men-
tioned expressly in this enumeration
of tbe articles of Job's wealth, though
butter is referred to by him subse-
quently as having been abundant in
his family, ch. xxix. 6. It is possible,
hov.ever, that cows v-ere included as
a part of the ' five hundred yoke of
■^1)53 Bdkdr.,' here rendered ' oxen ;'
but which would be quite as appro-
priately rendered cattle. The word is
in the common gender, and is deriv-
ed from ""i^^, in Arab, to cleave, to
divide, to lay open, and hence to
plougli, to cleave ihe soil. It denotes
properly the animals used in plough-
ing; and it is well known that cows
are employed as well as oxen for this
purpose in the East. See Judges xiv.
18. Hos. iv. 16. Comp. Deut. xxxii. 14,
where the word '^)^3 Bdkdr is used to
denote a cow — " milk of kine.," Gen
xxxiii. 13 (Heb.). H A7id a very great
household. Marg. husbandry. The He-
brew word here ('^'^^?'.) is ambiguous.
It may denote service rendered, i.ii,
work, or the servants who performed
it. Comp. Gen. xxvi. 14, JWar^. Tea
LXX render it vTiijOfoia Aquhe.
dovlala; and Symmachus, olxiT^a, all
denoting service, or servitude, or that
which pertained to the domestic ser-
vice of a family. The word refers
doubtless to those who had charge of
his camels, his cattle, and of his hus-
bandry. See ver. 15. It is not implied
by the word here used, nor by that in
ver. 15, that they were slaves. They
may have been, but there is nothing

CHAPTER I.

4 And his sons went and feast- 1 ed in their houses, every one his

to indicate this in the narrative. The
LXXadd to this, as if explanatory of
it, " and his works were great in the
land." IF So that this man teas the
greatest. Was possessed of the most
wealth, and was held in the highest
honor. *il Of all the men of the East.
Marg. as in Mch. sons. The sons of
the East denote those wlio lived in the
East. The word East (3"^)!? ) is com-
monly employed in the Scriptures to
denote the country which lies cast of
Palestine. For the places intended
here, see Intro. § 2, (3.) It is of course
impossible to estimate with accuracy
the exact amount of the value of the
property of Job. Compared with
many persons in modern times, in-
deed, his possessions would not be
regarded as constituting very great
riches. The Editor of the Pictorial
Bible supposes that on a fair estimate
his property might be considered as
worth from thirty to forty thousand
pounds sterling — equivalent to some
two hundred thousand dollars. In this
estimate the camel is reckoned as
worth about forty-five dollars, the
oxen as worth about five dollars, and
the sheep at u little more than one
dollar, which it is said are about the
average prices now in Western Asia.
Prices, however, fluctuate much from
one age to another ; but at the present
day such possessions would be re-
garded as constituting great wealth
in Arabia. The value of the proper-
ty of Job may be estimated from this
fact, that he had almost half as many
camels as constituted the wealth of a
Persian king in more modern times.
Chardin says, " as the king of Persia
in the year 1676 was in Mesandera,
the Tartars fell upon the camels of
the king and took away three thou-
sand of them, which was to him a
great loss, for he had only seven thou-
sand " — Rosenmilller, Morgenland,
in loc. The condition of Job we are to
regard as that of a rich Arabic Emir,
and his mode of life as between the
nomadic pastoral life, and the settled
manner of living in communities like

ours. He was a princely shepherd,
and yet he was devoted to the culti-
vation of the soil. It does not ap-
pear, however, that he claimed the
right of the soil in fee simple, nor is
his condition inconsistent with the
supposition that his residence in any
place was regarded as temporary, and
that all his property might be easily
removed. " lie belonged to that condi-
tion of life which fluctuated between
that of the wandering shepherd, and
that of a people settled in towns.
That he resided, or had a residence,
in a town is obvious ; but his flocks
and herds evidently pastured in the
deserts, between which and the town
his own time was probably divided.
He differed from the Hebrew patri-
archs chiefly in this, that he did not
so much wander about 'without any
certain dwelling place.' This mixed
condition of life, which is still fre-
quently exhibited in Western Asia,
will, we apprehend, account suffi-
ciently for the diversified character
of the allusions and pictures which
the book contains — to the pastoral life
and the scenes and products of the
wilderness ; to the scenes and cir-
cumstances of agriculture ; to the arts
and sciences of settled life and of ad-
vancing civilization." — Pict. Bib. It
may serve somewhat to illustrate the
difljerent ideas in regard to what con-
stituted wealth in ditferent countries,
to compare this statement respecting
Job with a remark of Virgil respect-
ing an inhabitant of ancient Italy,
wkom he calls the most wealthy
among the Ansonian farmers. —

Seniorque Galesus,
Dum paci medium se offert, justissimus unus,
Q,ui fuit, ansoniisquc olim ditissimus arvis.
Quinque greges illi balantom, quinaredibant
Armenia, et terram centmn vertebat aratris.
^n. vii.535— 53a.
Among the rest, the rich Galesus lies ;
A good old man, while peace he preached in

vain.
Amid the madness of the unruly train :
Five herds, five bleating flocks his pasture

filled.
His lands a hundred yoke of oxen tilled.

Drtdekt.

4 And his sons went and feasted

JOB.

day ; and sent and called for their
three sisters to eat and to drink
with them.

5 And it was so, when the
days of their feasting were gone
about, that Job sent and sancti-
fied them, and rose up early in

ill their houses. Dr. Good renders
this, " and his sons went to hold
a banquet house." .Tindal renders
it, "made bankettes." The He-
brew means, they went and made
* a house-feast ;' and the idea is,
that they gave an entertainment in
their dwellings, in the ordinary way
in which such entertainments were
made. The word here used (•^^'^''9)
is derived from "^^^^ shdthd., to
drink; and then to drink together, to
banquet. Schultens supposes that this
was merely designed to keep up the
proper familiarity between the dif-
ferent branches of the family, and
not for purposes of revelry and dis-
sipation ; and this seems to accord
with the view of Job. He, though
a pious man, was not opposed to
it, but he apprehended merely that
they might have sinned in their
hearts, ver. 5. He knew the danger,
and hence he was more assiduous in
imploring for them the divine guardi-
anship. IT Every one his day. In his
proper turn, or when his day came
round. Perhaps it refers only to their
birth-days. See ch. iii. 1, where the
woFd ' day' is used to denote a birth-
day. In early times the birth-day was
observed with great solemnity and re-
joicing. Perhaps in this statement the
author of the Book of Job means to
intimate that his family lived in en-
tire harmony, and to give a picture
of his domestic happiness strongly
contrasted with the calamities which
came upon his household. It was a
great aggravation of his sufferings
that a family thus peaceful and har-
monious was wholly broken up. — The
Chaldee adds, " until seven days
were completed," supposing that each
one of these feasts lasted seven days,

the morning, and offered burnt
offerings according to the num
ber of them all : for Job said, I\
may be that my sons have sinned,
and cursed "God in their hearts.
Thus did Job * continually.

a Le. 24. 15, 16. 1 all the days.

a supposition by no means improbable,
if the families were in any consider
able degree remote from each other.
11 And sent and called for their three
sisters. This also may be regard-
ed as a circumstance showing that
these occasions were not designed
for revelry. Young men, when they
congregate for dissipation, do not
usually invite their sisters to be
with them ; nor do they usually
desire the presence of virtuous fe-
males at all. The probability, there-
fore, is, that this was designed as af-
fectionate and friendly family inter-
course. In itself there was nothing
wrong in it, nor was there necessa-
rily any danger ; yet Job felt it possi-
ble that they might have erred and
forgotten God, and hence he was en-
gaged in more intense and ardent de-
votion on their account; ver. 5,

5. Jlnd it was so, ichen the days of
their feasting were gone about. Dr
Good renders this, " as the days of
such banquets returned." But this is
not the idea intended. It is, when the
banquets had gone round as in a cir-
cle through all the families, then Job
sent and sanctified them. It was not
from an anticipation that they icould
do wrong, but it was from the appre-
hension that they might have sinned.
The word rendered " were gone
about" (51|^5) means properly to join
together, and then to move round in
a circle, to revolve, as festivals do.
See Notes on Isaiah, xxix. 1 : " Let
the festivals go round." Here it
means that the days of their ban-
queting had gone round the circle, or
had gone round the several families.
Sept. " When the days of the enter-
tainment (or drinking, noxov) were
finished." A custom of feasting sim-

CHAPTER I.

9

ilar to this prevails in China. " They
have their fraternities which they
call the brotherhood of the months;
tills consists of months according to
tlie number of the days therein, and
ill a circle they go abroad to eat at
one another's houses by turns. If
one man has not conveniences to
receive the fraternity in liis own
house, he may provide for them in
another ; and there are many public
houses well furnished for this pur-
pose." See Semedo's History of Chi-
na, i. cli. 13, as quoted by Burder
in Rosenmilllcr's Morgenland, in loc.
IT That Job sent. Sent for them, and
called them around him. He was ap-
prehensive that the}' might have er-
red, and he took every measure to
keep them pure, and to maintain the
influence of religion in his family.
TI And sanctified them. This expres-
sion, says Schultens, is capable of
two interpretations. It may either
mean that he prepared them by vari-
ous lustrations, ablutions, and other
ceremonies to offer sacrifice ; or that
he offered sacrifices for the purpose
of procuring expiation for sins which
they miglit actually have committed.
Tiie former sense, he remarks, is fa-
vored by the use of the word in Ex.
xix. 10, 1 Sam. xvi. 5, where the
word means to prepare themselves by
ablutions to meet God and to worship
him. The latter sense is demanded
by the connection. Job felt as every
father should feel in such circum-
stances, that there was reason to fear
that God had not been remembered
as he ought to have been, and he was
therefore more fervent in his devo-
tions, and called them around him,
that their own minds might be aflect-
ed in view of his pious solicitude.
What father is there who loves God,
and who feels anxious that his chil-
dren should also, who docs not feel
special solicitude if his sons and his
daughters are in a situation where
successive days are devoted to feast-
ing and mirth.'' The word here ren-
dered sanctified Q^lpJ m \ii;s prop-
erly to be pure, clean, holy ; in Piliel,
the form used here, to make holy, to

sanctify, to consecrate, as a priest ;
and here it means, tnat he took meas-
ures to make them holy on the appre-
hension that they had sinned ; that is,
he took the usual means to procure
for them forgiveness. The LXX ren-
der it ty.dO-auill,fr, he purified them
IT JJnd rose up early in the morning.
For the purpose of offering his devo-
tions, and procuring for them expia-
tion. It was customary in the patriar-
chal times to oiler sacrifice early in the
morning. See Gen. xxii. 3. Ex. xxxii.
6. H Jlnd offered bur 7it- offerings. Ileb.
'and caused to ascend;' that is, by
burning them so that the smoke as-
cended towards heaven. The word
rendered burnt-off'crings (niP3>) is
from "^^^ d,ldh^ to ascend (the word
used here and rendered ^offered'),
and means that which was made to
ascend, to wit, b}' burning. It is ap-
plied in the Scriptures to a sacrifice
that was wholly consumed on the al-
tar, and answers to the Greek word
oAoKKPOToJ', Holocaust. See Notes on
Isa. i. Jl. Such ofi'erings in the pa-
triarchal times were made by the fa-
tlier of a famil}^ officiating as priest
in behalf of his household. Thus
Noah officiated. Gen. viii. 20 ; and
thus also Abraham acted as the priest
to ofler sacrifice, Gen. xii. 7, 8, xiii.
18, xxii. 13. In the earliest times,
and among heathen nations, it was
supposed that pardon might be pro-
cured for sin by offering sacrifice. In
Homer there is a passage which re-
markably corresponds with the view
of Job before us ; II. ix. 493 :

The gods (the great and only wise)
Arc moved by offerings, vows, and sacrifice ,
Offending men their high compassion wins,
And daily prayeis atone for daily sins.

Poi'E.

IT Jlccording to the number of them all
Sons and daughters. Perhaps an ad
ditional sacrifice for each one of them.
The LXX render this, " according to
their numbers, yal fioa/ov fva Tifi^d
a/Liaori'aq TTfol 76J1' xfii'/o)!' avrotv — a
young bullock fin- sin [or a sin-otFer-
ingj for their souls." IT Itmaybc that
my sons have sinned. lie had no pos-
itive or certain proof of it. He felt

!0

JOB.

only the natural apprehension which
every pious father must, that his sons
might have been overtaken by temp-
tation, and perliaps, under the in-
fluence of wine, might have been
led to speak reproaclifully of God,
and of the necessary restraints of
true religion and virtue. IT And curs-
ed God in their hearts. The word
here rendered curse is that which
is usually rendered hicss (Titi^). It
is not a little remarkable that the
same word is used in senses so di-

rectly opposite as to

and to

curse. Dr. Good contends that the
word should be always rendered hless^
and so translates it in this place,
*' peradventure my sons may have
sinned, nor blessed God in their
hearts," understanding tJie 1 (Vav) as
a disjunctive or negative participle.
So too in ch. ii. 9, rendered in our
common translation, " curse <iod and
die," ho translates it, "blessing God
and dying." But the interpretation
which the connection demands is ev-
idently that of cursing, renouncing,
or forgetting; and so also it is in ch.
ii. 9. This sense is still more obvious
in 1 Kings xxi. 10: "Thou didst
blaspheme (J^r'j?) God and the king."'
So also ver. 13 of the same chapter —
though here Dr. Good contends that
the word should be rendered hless^
and that the accusation was that JNTa-
both blessed or worshipped the gods,
even Moloch — wliere he supposes the
word ^^.'2 melcch, should be pointed
Tj^.^ and read Molech. But the diffi-
culty is not removed by this, and af-
ter all it is probable that the word
here, as in ch. ii. 9, means to curse.
So it is understood by nearly all in-
terpreters. TJie V^ulgate indeed ren-
ders it singularly enough, " Lest per-
haps my sons have sinned, and have
blessed God (et benedixerint Deo)
in their hearts." The LXX, " Lest
perhaps my sons in their mind have
ihouglit evil towards God" — y.ay.a
irevotjoar noo.; &s6)'. The Ciialdce,
*' Lest my sons have sinned and pro-
voked Jehovah C^"? D^l^^ 'HT'^i^Jsip

in their hearts." Assuming that this
is the sense of the word here, there
are three ways of accounting for the
fact that the same word should have
such opposite significations. (1.) One
is that proposed by Taylor (Concor.),
that pious persons of old regarded
blasphemy as so abominable that they
abhorred to express it by the proper
name, and that therefore by an eu-
phemism they used the term bless in-
stead of curse. But it should be said
that nothing is more common in the
Scriptures than words denoting curs-
ing and blasphemy. The word ^^^
dldh^ in the sense of cursing or exe-
crating, occurs frequently. So the
word v|15 ghddhdph^ means to blas-
pheme, and is often used ; 2 Kings,
xix. 6, 22. Isa. xxxvii. 6, 23. Ps. xliv.
17. Other words also were used in
the same sense, and there was no ne-
cessity of using a mere euphemism,
here. (2.) A second mode of ac-
counting for this double use of the
word is, that this was the common
term of salutation between friends at
meeting and parting. It is then
supposed to have been used in the
sense of the English phrase to bid
farewell to. And then, like that
phrase, to mean to renounce^ to aban-
don., to dismiss from the mind., to
disregard. The words yaCiJuv in
Greek, and valcre in Latin, are
used in this way. This explanation is
suggested by Schultens, and is adopt-
ed by Rosen Qiiiller and Noyes, who
refer to the following places as paral-
lel instances of the use of the word.
Virg. Eel. 8, 58. Fivite Sylva — a form,
says the Annotator on Virgil (Dol-
phin), of bidding farewell to, like the
Greek /at'ofte., gaudete — " a ibrm
used against those whom we reject
with hatred, and wish to depart."
Thus Catull. IL 17: Cum suis vi-
vat, valeatquc mcechis. So .i^sch.
A gam. 581 :
Ka.1 no).la yaiQtty ouucBOOQiic xara-

Thus Pint. Dion. p. 975. So Ci-
cero in a letter to Atticus (viii. 8),
in which he complains of the dis-

CHAPTER I.

11

f) ^[ Now there was a day"
when the sons of God came * to
present themselves before the

a c. 2. 1, &:c.

h 1 Ki. 22. ]9. c. 38. 7.

graceful flight of Pompey, applies to
him a quotation from Aristophanes;
noXlk /afoBiV iItzmv toI y.aloi —
*' bidding farewell to honor he fled
to J^rundusium." Comp. Ter. And.
iv. 2. 14. Cicero de Nat. Deor. 1. 44.
According to this interpretation, it
means that Job apprehended they
hadrenouncedGodin their hearts, i.e.,
had been unmindful of him, and had
withheld from him the homage which
was due. — This is plausible ; but the
difliculty is in making out the use of
this sense of the word in Hebrew.
That the word was used as a mode
of parting salutation among the He-
brews is undoubted. It was a solemn
form of invoking the divine blessing
when friends separated. Comp. Gen.
xxviii. 3, xlvii. 10. But I find no
use of the word where it is applied to
separation in the sense oi' renouncing,
or bidding farewell to inahad sense;
and unless some instances of this kind
can be adduced, the interpretation is
unsound, and though similar phrases
are used in Greek, Latin, and other
languages, it does not demonstrate
that this use of the word obtained in
the Hebrew. (3) A third, and more
simple explanation is that v^'hich sup-
poses that the original sense of the
word was to kneel. This, according
to Gesenius, is the meaning of the
word in Arabic. So Castell gives
the meaning of the word — ' to bend
the knees for the sake of honor;'
that is, as an act of respect. So in

Syriac, -^9^3 Genua, flexit, j^^'ocu-

buit. So vOiO?— Genu, the knee. Then
it means to bend the knee for the
purpose of invoking God, or worship-
ping. In Piel, tlie form used here, it
means (1) to bless God, to celebrate,
to adore; (2) to bless men — i. e , to
invoke blessings on them ; to greet or
salute them — in the sense of invoking
blessings on them when we meet

Lord, and ^ Satan came also
among '^ them.

1 the adversary 1 Cli. 21. 1. Zee. 3. 1. Re
12. 9, 10. 2 in the midst of them.

them ; 1. Sam. xv. 13. Gen. xlvii. 7.
2 Sam. vi. 20; or when we part
from them ; Gen. xlvii. 10. 1 Kings
viii. 66. Gen. xxiv. 60; ('3) to invoke
evil, in the sense of cursing others.
The idea is, that punishment or de-
struction is from God, and hence it is
imprecated on others. In one word,
the term is used, as derived from the
general sense of kneeling, in the
sense of invoking either blessings or
curses ; and then in the general sense
of blessing or cursing. This inter-
pretation is defended by Selden, de
jure Nat. et Gent. Lib. II. c. xi.
p. 255, and by Gesenius, Lex. The
idea here i.s, that Job apprehended
that his sons, in the midst of mirth,
and perhaps revelry, had been guilty
of irreverence, and perhaps of re-
proaching God inwardly for the
restraints of virtue and piety. — What
is more common in such scenes.^
What was more to be apprehended ?
IT Thus did Job CGntimially. It was
his regular habit whenever such an
occasion occurred. He was unre-
mitted in his pious care; and his soli-
citude lest his sons should have
sinned never ceased — a beautiful il
lustration of the appropriate feelings
of a pious father in regard to his
sons. The Heb. is, 'all day; i.e.,
at all times.

6. J^oic there loas a day. Dr. Good
renders this, " And the day came."
Tindal, " Now upon a time." The
Chaldee Paraphrast has presumed to
specify the time, and renders it,
" Now it happened in the day of
judgment [or scrutiny, NS"^"!^ i<"^'i"'l3]>
in the leginning of the year, that
hosts of angels came to stand in
judgment before Jehovah, and Satan
came." According to this, the judg-
ment occurred once a year, and a
solemn investigation was had of the
conduct even of the angels. In the
Hebrew there is no intimation of the

12

JOB.

frequency with which this occurred,
nor of the time of the year when it
happened. The only idea is, that " the
sons of God " on a set or appointed
day came to stand before God to
give an account of what they had
done, and to receive further orders in
regard to what they were to do. —
Tliis is evidently designed to intro-
duce the subsequent events relating
[o Job. It is language taken from the
proceedings of a monarch who had
sent forth messengers or ambassadors
on important errands through the
different provinces of his empire,
who now returned to give an account
of what they had observed, and of
the general state of the kingdom.
Such a return would, of course, be
made on a fixed day when, in the
lani^uage of the Taw, their report
would be " returnable," and when
they would be required to give in an
account of the state of the kingdom.
If it be said that it is inconsistent
with the supposition that tJiis book
was inspired to suppose such a poetic
fiction, I reply, (1.) That it is no more
go than the parables of the Saviour,
who often supposes cases, and states
them as real occurrences, in order
to illustrate some important truth.
Yet no one was ever led into error
by this. (2.) It is in accordance
with the language in tlie Scripture
everywhere to describe God as a
monarch seated on his throne, sur-
rounded by his ministers, and send-
ing them forth to accomplish import-
ant purposes in different parts of his
vast empire. It is not absolutely ne-
cessary, therefore, to regard this as
designed to represent an actual oc-
currence. It is one of the admissible
ornaments of poetry ; — as admissible
as any other poetic ornament. To
represent God as a king is not im-
proper; and if so, it is not improper
to represent him with the usual ac-
companiments of royalty, — surround-
ed by ministers, and employing an-
gels and messengers for important
purposes in his kingdom. This sup-

f»osition being admitted, all that fol-
ows is merely in keepings and is

designed to preserve the verisimili-
tude of the conception. — This idea,
however, by no means militates
against the supposition that angels
are in fact really employed by God
in important purposes in the govern-
ment of his kingdom, nor that Satan
has a real existence, and is permitted
by God to employ an important
agency in the accomplishment of his
purposes towards his people. On this
verse, however, see the Introduction,
§1. (4.) ir The sons of God. An-
gels. Comp. ch. xxxviii. 7. The
whole narrative supposes that they
were celestial beings. IT Came to
present tliemselves. As having re
turned from their embassy, and to
give an account of what they had
observed and done. H Before the
Lord. Before Jehovah. On the
meaning of this word, see Notes on
Isa. i. 2. A scene remarkably si-
milar to this is described in 1 Kinga
xxii. 19 — 23. Jehovah is there re-
presented as " sitting on his throne,
and all the host of heaven standing
by him on his right hand and on his
left." He inquires who would go
and persuade Ahab that he might go
up and fall at Ramoth Gilead : " And
there came forth a spirit and stood
before the Lord, and said, I will
persuade him." This he promised
to do by being "a lying spirit in the
mouth of all his prophets." H Jlnd
Satan came also among them. Marg.
"The adversary" came "in tho
midst of them." On the general
meaning of this passage, and the reu-^
sons why Satan is introduced here,
and the argument thence derived
respecting the age and authorship of
the Book of Job, see Introduction,
§ iv. (4.) The Vulgate renders this
by . the name Satan. The LXX,
6 did^oXoq — the devil, or the ac-
cuser. The Chaldee, i^f^^ Satan.
So the Syriac. Theodotion, 6 avn-
y.s//itfvnq — the adversary. The word
rendered Sataji O"^'^) is derived
from Y-^'^ Satan, to lie in wait, to be
an adversary, and hence it means
properly an adversary, an accuser

CHAPTER I.

13

It is used to denote one who opposes,
as in war (1 Kings xi. 14, 23, 25. 1
Sam. xxix. 4) ; one w]io is an adver-
sary or an accuser in a court of jus-
tice (Ps. cix. 6), and one who stands
in the way of another. Num. xxii.
22, "And the angcl of Jehovah
stood in the way fur an adversary
against him" (^^ "jZj'db'j^ to oppose
him. It is then used by way of
eminence, to denote the adversary,
and assumes the form of a proper
name, and is app]i<^^d to the great foe
of God and man — the malignant spi-
rit wlio seduces men to evil, and
who accuses them before God. Thus
in Zech. iii. 1, 2, "And he showed
me Joshua the high priest standing
before the angel of the Lord, and
Satan standing at his right Ijand to
resist him. And t!ie Lord said unto
Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O
Satan." Comp. Rev. xii. 10, "Now
is come salvation — for the accuser
(o y.ari^yojn — i. e., Satan, see ver. 9^
of our brethren is cast down, which
accused them before our God day
and night." — The word does not
often occur in the Old Testament.
It is found in the various forms of a
verb and a noun in only the follow-
ing places. As a verb, in the sense
of being an adversar}', Ps. Ixxi. 13,
cix. 4,20,20. Zech. iii. 1. Ps.xxxviii.
20; as a noun, rendered adversary,
and adversaries, 1 Kings v. 4, xi. 14,
22, 25. Num. xxii. 22, 32. 1 Sam.
xxix. 4. 2 Sam. xix. 22; rendered
Satan, 1 Chron. xxi. 1. Ps. cix. 6.
Job i. 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, ii. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7.
Zecii. iii. 2; and once rendered an
accusation, Ezra iv. 6. It was a word,
therefore, early used in tlie sense of
an adversary or accuser, and was
applied to any one. who sustained
this character, until it finally came to
be used as a proper name, to denote,
by way of eminence, the prince of
evil spirits, as the adversary or ac-
cuser of men. An opinion has been
adopted in modern times by Herder,
Eic])horn, Dathe, ligen, and some
others, that the being here referred
to by the name of Satan is not the
malignant spirit, the enemy of God,

the Devil, but is one of the sons of
God, " a faithful, but too suspicious
servant of Jkhovah." According to
this, God is represented as holding a
council to determine the state of his
dominions. In this council, Satan,
a zealous servant of Jehovah, to
whom had been assigned the honora-
ble office of visiting difterent parts of
the earth, for the purpose of observ-
ing the conduct of the subjects of
Jehovah, makes his appearance on
his return v/itii others. Such was
the piety of Job, that it had attracted
the special attention of Jehovah,
and he puts the question to Satan,
whether in his journey he had re-
marked this illustrious example of
virtue. Satan, who, from what he
has observed on earth, is supposed to
have lost all confidence in the reality
and genuineness of the virtue which
man may exhibit, suggests that he
doubts whether even Job serves God
from a disinterested motive; that
God had encompassed him with
blessings, and that his virtue is the
mere result of circumstances ; and
that if his comforts were removed he
would be found as destitute of prin-
ciple as any other man. Satan, ac-
cording to this, is a suspicious minis-
ter of Jehovah, not a malignant
spirit; he inflicts on Job only what
he is ordered to by God, and nothing
because he is himself malignant. Of
this opinion Gesenius remarks (Lex.),
that it " is now universally explod-
ed." An insuperable objection to
this view is, that it does not accord
with the character usually ascribed
to Satan in the Bible, and especially
that the disposition attributed to him
in the narrative before us is wholly
inconsistent with this view. He is
a malignant being; an accuser; one
delighting in the opportunity of
charging a holy man v/ith hypocrisy,
and in the permission to inflict tor-
tures on him, and who goes as far in
producing misery as he is allowed —
restrained from destroying him only
by the express command of God. —
In Arabic the word Sata« is often
applied to a serpent. Thus Gjau-

14

JOB.

7 And the Lord said unto
Satan, Whence comest thou ?
Then Satan answered the Lord,

hari, as quoted by Schultens, says,
*' The Arabs call a serpent Satan,
especially one that is conspicuous by
its crest, head, and odious appear-
ance." It is applied also to any
object or being that is evil. Thus
the Scholiast on Hariri, as quoted
by Schultens also, says, " Every thing
that is obstinately rebellious, oppos-
ed, and removed from good, of genii,
men, and beasts, is called Satan." —
The general notion of an adversary
and an opponent is found everywhere
in the meaning of the Vv^ord. — Dr.
Good remaiks on this verse, " We
have here another proof that, in the
system of patriarchal theology, the
evil spirits, as well as the good, were
equally amenable to the xllmighty,
and were equally cited, at definite
periods, to answer for their conduct at
his bar." Rosenmiiiler remarks well
in this verse, " It is to be observed,
that Satan, no less than the other
celestial spirits, is subject to the gov-
ernment of God, and dependent on
his commands (comp. ch. ii. 1), where
Satan equally with the sons of God
(D'^nPN ^3S) is said to present him-
self' before God (n^jPn^ ; i. e.
/.fCrovQyH}') to minister, Jehovah
uses the ministry of this demon
[hujus daemonis] to execute punish-
ment, or when from any other cause
it seemed good to him to send evil
upon men. But he, although incensed
against the race of mortals, and de-
sirous of injuring, is yet described as
bound with a chain, and never dares
to touch the pious unless God re-
laxes the reins. Satan, in walking
round the eartli, could certainly at-
tentively consider Job, but to injure
him he could not, unless permission
had been given him."

7, £nd the Lord said unto Satan,
Whence comest thou? This inquiry
does not appear to have been made
«S if it was improper that Satan

and said, From going " to and for
in the earth, and from walking
up and down in it.

a Mat. 12. 43. 1 Pe. 5, 8.

should have appeared there, for no
blame seems to have been attached
to him for this. He came as a spirit
that was subject to the control of Je-
hovah; he came with others, not to
mingle in their society, and partake
of their happiness, but to give an ac-
count of what he had done, and of
what he had observed. The poetic
idea is, that this was done periodi-
cally, and that all the spirits employ-
ed by Jehovah to dispense blessings
to mortals, to inflict punishment, or
to observe their conduct, came and
stood before him. Why the inquiry
is directed particularly to Satan, is
not specified. Perhaps it is not meant
that there was any special inquiry
made of him, but that, as he was to
have so important an agency in the
transactions whicji follow, the in-
quiry that was made of him only is
recorded. In respect to the others,
nothing occurred pertaining to Job,
and their examination is not adverted
to. Or it may be, that, as Satan was
known to be malignant, suspicious,
and disposed to tliink evil of the serv-
ants of God, the design was to direct
his attention particularly to Job as an
illustrious and indisputable example
of virtue and piety. H From going to
and fro in the earth. Dr. Good ren-
ders this, " from roaming round."
Noyes, " from wandering over." The
word which is here used (;3^u3) means
properly, (1,) to whip, to scourge, to
lash ; (2,) to row, i. e., to lash the sea
with oars; (3,) to run up and down,
to go hither and thither, or to and fro,
so as to lash the air with one's arms
as WMth oars, and hence to travel over
a land, or to go through it in order to
see it, 2 Sam. xxiv. 2, 8. Dr. Good,
in conformity wilii the interpretation
proposed by Schultens, says that " the
word imports, not so much the act of
going forwards and backwards, as of
making a circuit or cireumfercnce •

CHAPTER I.

15

8 And the Lord said unto Sa- ] like him in the earth, a perfect
tin. Hast thou ^ considered my and an upright man, one that

servMut Job, that there is none

I set thine heart on.

of g.oiiig round about. The Hebrew
verb is still in use among the Arabic
writers, and in every instance implies
the same idea of gyration or circum-
ambulation." In Arabic, according to

Castell, the word L,l means to heat,

to hirn, to cause to hoil, to consume :
then to propel to weariness, as e. g.
a horse, and then to make a circuit,
to go about at full speed, to go with
diligence, and activity. Thus in Car-
viiso, as quoted by Schultens, "a
course made at one impulse to the
goal is called '^^^ shot. In 2 Sam.
xxiv. 9, the word is used in the sense
of passing around through diflerent
places for the purpose of taking a
census, " Go now (jMarg. compass)
through all the tribes of Israel." In
Num. xi. 8, it is applied to the Isra-
elites going about to collect manna,
— passing rapidly and busily in the
places where it fell for the purpose of
gathering it. In Zech. iv. 10, it is ap-
plied to " the eyes of Jehovah,"
which are said to " run to and fro
through the earth," i. e.. he surveys
all things as one does whose eye pass-
es rapidly from object to object. The
same phrase occurs in 2 Chron. xvi.
9. In Jer. v. 9, it is applied to the ac-
tion of a man passing rapidly through
the streets of a city. " Run ye to
and fro tlirough the streets of Jeru-
salem." Comp. Jer. xlix. 3. From
these passages it is clear that the idea
is not that of going in « circuit or
circle, but it is that of pa.ssing rapid-
ly; of moving with alacrit} and in
a hurry ; and it is not improbable that
the original idea is that suggested in
the Arabic of liejit — and thence ap-
plied to a whip or scourge because it
produces a sensation like burning,
and also to a rapid journey or motion
because it produces heat or a glow.
It means that Satan had been active j
and diligent in passing from place to ]

feareth God, and escheweth evil 1

place in the earth to survey it, Tho
Chaldee adds to this, " to examine
into the works of the sons of men."
H And from icalking. That is, to in-
vestigate ])uman affairs. On tJiis verse
itjs observed by Rosenmuller, that
in the life of Zoroaster (see Zenda-
vesta by J. G. Kleukner, vol. iii. p.
11), the prince of the evil demons,
the angel of death, whose name is
Engremeniosch, is said to go far and
near through the world for the pur-
pose of injuring and opposing good /->,
men. . U.

/ 8. Hast thou considered my servant\ '^
{Job. Marg. Set thine heart on. The j
\iniargin is a literal translation of tho. /
^Jebrew. SchulTCns remarks on this,
that it means more than merely to ob-
serve or to look at — since it is abun-
dantly manifest from the following
verses that Satan /i«^Z attentively con-
sidered Job, and had been desirous ot
injuring him. It means, according to
him, to set himself against Job, to
fix the heart on him with an inten- ^,. .
tion to injure him, and Jehovah I^.
means to agjk whether Satan had
done this. (But it seems m.ore proba- .-^
ble that the phrase means to consider l-
attentivehj, and that God means to ask
him ^--^i-^tK^v [|o j^if] ppr^f,,LLy — jjjj.

.S^^'^d, him. Jt^atan is represented as
having no "confidence in human vir-
tue, and as maintaining that there j^"^
was none which would resist tempta-
tion, if presented in a form sufficient-
ly alluring^ God here appeals to the
case of Job as a full refutation of this
opinion. The trial which follows is
designed to tost the question whether
the pietv of Job was of tins order.
H That there is none like him in the
earth. That he is the very highest
example of virtue and piety on earth.
Or might not the word "^5 hi here be
rendered /or .? 'For there is none
like him in the earth.' Then the idea
would be, not that he liad considered

16

JOB.

9 Then Satan answered the
Lord, and said, Doth Job fear
God for nought?

10 Hast thou not made an
hedge'' about him, and about his

a Ps. 34. 7.

that there was none like him, but
God directs his attention to him be-
cause he was the most eminent among
mortals. 1[ Jl perfect and an upright
man. See Notes on ver. 1. Tlie LXX
translate this verse as they do ver. 1.
V9. Doth Job fear God for nought?
* Is his religion disinterested .'' Would
not any one be w^illing to worship
God in such circumstances :' The
idea is, that there was nothing genu-
ine about his piety .; that religion
could not be tried in prosperity ;
that Job had an abundant compensa-
tion for serving God, and that if the
favors conferred on him were taken
away, he would be like the rest of
mankind J ]\Iuch of the apparent vir-
tue and'ffeligion of the world is the
result of circumstances, and the ques-
tion here proposed viay^ it is to be
feared, be asked with great propriety
of many professors of religion v/ho
are rich ; it should be asked by every
professed friend of the Most High,
whether liis religion is not selfish
and mercenary. Is it becuuse God
has blessed us with great earthly ad-
vantages .'' Is it the result of mere
gratitude .'' Is it because he has pre-
served us in peril, or restored usfioni
sickness ? Or is it merely because
we hope for heaven, and serve God
because we trust he will reward us in
a future world .'' All this maybe the
result of mere selfishness ; and of all
such persons it may be appropri-
ately asked, "Do they fear God for
nought.?" True religion is not mere
gratitude, nor is it the result of cir-
cumstances. It is the love of religion
for its ovvji sake — not for reward ; it
is because the service of God is right
m itself, and not merely because
heaven is full of glory ; it is because
God is worthy of our afiections and
confidence, and not merely because

house, and about all that he hath
on every side 1 thou hast blessed
the work of his hands, and his
substance ' is increased in the
land.

he will bless us-^and this religion
will live through all external chang-
es, and survive the destruction of
the world. It will flourish in poverty
as well as wlien surrounded by af-
fluence ; on a l)ed of pain as well as
in vigorous health ; when we are ca-
lumniated and despised for our at-
tachment to it, as well as v/hen the
incense of flattery is burnt around
us, and the silvery tones of praise
fall on our ear ; in the cottage as well
as the palace; on the pallet of straw
as well as on the bed of down. ^^ —

10. Hast thou not made an he'^e
about him ? Dr. Good remarks, that
to give the original word here its full
force, it should be derived from the
science of engineering, and be ren-
dered, "Hast thou not raised a pali-
sado about him .?" The Hebrew word
here used (Tj^"^) properly means to
hedge ; to hedge in or about ; and
hence to protect, as one is defended
whose house or farm is hedged in
either with a fence of thorns, or with
an inclosure of stakes or palisades^.
The word in its various forms is used
to denote, as a nouu, pricks in the eyes
(Num. xxxiii. 55) ; that is, that which
would be like thorns ; barbed irons
(Job xli. 7), that is, the barbed iron
used as a spear to take fish ; and a
hedge, and thorn hedge, Mic. vii. 4.
Prov. XV. 19. Isa. v. 5. The idea here
is, that of making an inclosure around
Job and his possessions to guard
them from danger. The LXX render
it Tzeoiecfocc^aq, to ' make a defence
around,' to circutiivallate or inclose,
as a camp is in war. In the Syriac
and Arabic it is rendered, " Hast
thou not protected him with thy
hand .?" The Chaldee, "' Hast thou
protected him with thy word ?" The
LXX render the whole passage,
" Hast thou not encircled the thinga

CHAPTER I.

17

11 But put forth thine hand
now, Jind touch " all that he hath,'
and he will * curse thee to thy
face.

12 And the Lord said unto

a c. 19. 21. 1 if he curse thee not. \^

Satan, Behold, all that he hath
is in thy power , ^ only upon him
self put not forth thine hand. So
Satan went forth from the pres-
ence of the Lord.

6 Is. 8. 21.

2/«mrf, Ge. IG. 6.

which are without him" (t« f'^w av
TOJ"), i. G. tlie things abrofid wliich be-
long ^jiiaij'' and the things within
liis/^ouse." Q'hc sense of the whole
passage is, tliat he was eminently
under the divine protection, and that
God had kept himself, his fiimil^'-,
and property from plunderers, and
that therefore he served and feared
him. jjH Thou hast blessed the work of
his hands. Thou hast greatly pros-
pered him. ^ Aid his substance 25 JJosh. ix. 19), an
increase/l in the land. l[is propertv.j J^nm^ to strike,
ver. 3. Marg. cattle. (Tlte word ^7^-w .J3. 1 Sam. vi. 9
creased here by no )neans expresses
the force of the original. The word
^T^ means properly to break, to
rend, then to break or burst forth as
waters do that have been pent upj
2 Sam. V. 20. Comp. Prov. iii. ITf]
" So shall thy barns be filled with
plenty, and thy presses shall burst
out (^i2"i3';') with new wine ;"' i. e ,
thy wine-fats shall be so full that they
shall overflow, or burst the barriers,
and the wine shall flow out in abun-
dance. The Arabians, according to
Schuitens, employ tins word still to
denote the mouth or embouchure —
fi\e most rapid jjart of a stream. So
Golius, in proof of tliis, quotes from
the Arabic writer Gjauhari, a couplet
where the word is used to denote tiie
-•nouth of the Euphrates :

" His rushing wealth o'eiflowed him with its

licaps ;
So at its mouth ( ^'^.5 (the mad Euphrates

sweeps." ^-' /
According to Schuitens, the word
denotes a place where a river bursts
forth, and makes a new way by reji4»
ing the hills and rocks asunder. | In
like manner, the flocks and herds of
Job had burst, as it were, every bar-
rier, and had spread like an inunda-
tion over the land.JComp. Gen. xxx.

43. 2 Chron. xxxi. 5. Ex. i, 1.
Job xvi. 14.

11. But jnd forth thine hand noto.
That is, for the purpose of injuring
him, and taking away his property. II
.^nd touch all that he hath. Dr. Good
renders this, " and smite.'' The Vulg.
and the LXX, "touch." The He-
brew word used liere ("?5) means
properly to touch ; then to touch any
one with violence (Gen. xxvi. 11.

and then to smite, to in-
See Gen. xxxii. 26,
9. Job x^x. 21. Comp.
Notes on Isa. liii. 4. Ulere it means
evidently to smite or strike ; and the
idea is, that if God should take away
the property of Job, lie would take
away his religion with it — and the
trial was to see whether this eflect
would follow. tjAnd he will curse
thee to thy face. Be will do it openly
and publicly. The word rendered
curse here (T"|'!!^) is the same as that
used in ver. 5, and which is usually
rendered bless. JHeo Notes on ver .5.
Dr. Good contends that it should be
rendered here_^Jii£s,l^_jllMJLtlnns-
latcs it as a question : " V/ill he then,
ihd^ejiJjtErs'^rhee totTiy face .^" JBut
iiTthis he probably slah'^s alone./ The
evident sense is, that Job would
openly renounce God, and curse him
on his throne ; that all his religion
was caused merely by his abundant
prosperity, and was mere gratitude
and selfishness ; and that if his pro-
perty W'Cre taken away, h(^ would
become the open and avov»^ed enemy
of him who was now his benefactorj

12. Ml that he hath is in thy jiozcer.
Marg. as in Heb. hand. That is, all
this is now committed to thee, for it
is manifest that hitherto Satan had
no power to injure even his property.
He complained LJiat God had made a

^.

a:
/I'

l:

/

e

ii

18

JOB.

13 And there was a day "
when his sons and his daughters
were eating and drinking wine in
their eldest brother's house :

14 And there came a messen-
ger unto Job, and said, The ox-

a Ec, 9. 1-2.

hedge around all that Job possessed.
Now it was all intrusted to him in
order that he might make full trial of
the faith of Job. The grant extended
to his sons and daugliters as well as
to his property. Tl Only upon himself
-put not forth tliine hand. Job himself
was not to be visited witli sickness,
nor was his life to be taken. fTTTe
main accusation of Satan was, that
Job was virtuous only because God
encompassed him with so many bless-
ings, and especially because he had
endowed him with so much property.
The trial, therefore, only required
that it should be seen whether his
piety was the mere result of these
blessingsj *![ So Satan xcent fortli
from the presence of the Lord. That
is, from the council which had been
convened. See Notes on ver. 6.

13. Jlnd there icas a day. That is,
on the day in which the regular turn
came for the banquet to be held in
tlie house of the elder brother.
Comp. Notes on ver. 4. IT And drink-
ing loine. This circumstance is omit-
ted in ver. 4. It shows that wine was
regarded as an essential part of the
banquet, and it was from its use that
Job apprehended the unhappy results
referred to in ver. 5.

14. And there came a messeno-cr
unto Joh. Heb. Tj^-^^ ; the word usu-
ally rendered angel^ appropriately
rendered ' messenger' here. The
word properly means one icho is sent.
IT The oxen loerc jilovghing. Heb. the
cattle (*^)^2r!), including not merely
oxen, but probably also cotes. Sec
Notes on ver. 3. IT And the asses.
Heb. ni3rx she-asses. The sex is
here expressly mentioned, and Dr.
Good maintains that it should be in

en were ploughing, and the asses
feeding beside them :

15 And the Sabeans fell up07i
them, and took them away ; yea,
they have slain the servants with
the edge of the sword ; and I
only am escaped alone to tell
thee.

the translation. So it is in the LXX,
at O-Tjleiai ovoi. So Jerome, asince.
The reason why the sex is specified
is, tliat female asses, on account of
their milk, were much more valuable
than males. On this account they
were preferred also for travelling.
See Notes on ver. 3. 11 Beside them.
Heb. " By their hands," i. e., by their
siTttrs, for the Heb. ^^ is often used
in this sense. Comp. Notes on Isa.
xxxiii. 21.

1.5. And the Sahcans. Heb. ^^"^y
Vulg. Saha^i. The LXX give a para-
phrase, y.al iXOoyxfq ol a(//(a?.onfV-
ornq j]/fia/.o')T?voai', 'And the plun-
derers coming, plundered them,' or
made them captive. On the situation
of Shebaand Seba, see Notes on Isa.
xliii. 3, xiv. 14, Ix. 6. The people
here referred to were, undoubtedly,
inhabitants of some part of Arabia
Felix. There are three persons of the
name of Sheba mentioned in the
Scriptures. (1.) A grandson of Cush,
Gen. X. 7. (2.) A son of Joktan, Gen.
X. 28. (3.) A son of Jokshan, the son
of Abraliam by Keturah. Calmet.
The Sheba here referred to was pro-
bably in the southern part of Arabia,
and from the narrative it is evident
that the Sabeans here mentioned
were a predatory tribe. It is not im-
probable that tliese tribes were in the
habit of wandering for purposes of
plunder over the whole country, from
the banks of the Euphrates to the
outskirts of Egypt. The Bed aw in
Arabs of the present day resemble in
a ronarkable manner the ancient in-
habitants of Arabia, and for many
centuries the manners of the inhab-
itants of Arabia have nof changed,
for the habits of the Orientals con-

CHAPTER I,

19

16 While he ?^fl5 yet speaking,
there came also another, and
said, ' The fire of God is fallen
from heaven, and hath burned

1 or, a great fire.

tinue the same from age to age. Tlie
Syriac renders tliis simply, " a mul-
titude rushed x\\iO\\ them ;'' omitting
the word Sahean. ^ Fell upon them.
With violence ; or rushed unexpect-
edly upon them. This is the way in
wliich the Arab tribes now attack
the caravan, the traveller, or the vil-
lage, for plunder. IT And took them
away. As plunder. It is common
now to make such sudden incursions,
and to carry off a large booty, Tl They
have slain the servants. Heb. tJ'^*i^'D,
the young men. The word '^^S,
nadr., properly means a hoy^ and is
applied to an infant just born, Ex.
ii. 6. Jiidg. xiii. 5, 7 ; or to a youth,
Gen. xxxiv. 19, xli. 12. It came then
to denote a servant or slave, like the
Greek Tzaiq ; Gen. xxxvii. 2. 2 Kings
v. 20. Comp. Acts. v. 6. So the word
boy is often used in the Southern
States in our own country to denote
a slave. Here it evidently means the
servants that were employed in cul-
tivating the lands of Job, and keep-
ing .his cattle. There is no intima-
tion that they were slaves. Jerome
renders lipucros^ hoys ; so tlie LXX,
Torfj 7rai<5'ag. IT Jlnd I verily am es-
caped alone. By myself, "^ \15 V There
is no other one with me. It is re-
markable that the same account is
given by each one of the servants
who escaped, vs. 16, 17, 19. The
Chaldee lias given a very singular
Version of this — apparently from the
desire of accounting for every thing,
and of mentioning the names of all
thc*persons intended. "The oxen
were ploughing, and Lclath, queen of
Zamargad, suddenly rushed upon
them, and carried them away."

16. Whileheioas yet speahing. All
this indicates the rapidity of tlie
movement of Satan, and his desire
to overiohelm Job with the suddcn-

up the sheep and ihe servants,
and consumed them ; and I only
am escaped alone to tell thee.
17 While he was yet speak-

ness and greatness of his calamities.
The object seems to have been to
give him no time to recover from the
shock of one form of trial before ano-
ther came upon him. If an interval
had been given him he might have
rallied his strength to bear his trials ;
but afflictions are much more diffi-
cult to be borne when they come in
rapid succession. — It is not a very
uncommon occurrence, however, that
the righteous are tried by the rapid-
ity and accumulation as well as the
severity of 'their afflictions. It has
passed into a proverb that ' afflictions
do not come alone.' IF The fire of
God. Marg. A great fire; evidently
meaning a flash of lightning, or a
thunderbolt. The Hebrew is 'fire
of God;' but it is probable that the
phrase is used in a sense similar to
the expression, 'cedars of God,'
meaning lofty cedars; or 'mountains
of God,' meaning very high moun-
tains. The lightning is probably in-
tended. Comp. Num. xvi. 35. Note
on Isa. xxix. 6. H From heaven.
From the sky, or the air. So the
word heaven is often used in the
Scriptures. See Notes on Mattli. xvi.
1. IT And hath burnt up the sheep.
That lightning might destroy herds
and men no one can doubt ; though
the fact of their being actually con-
sumed or burnt up may have been
an exaggeration of the much affright-
ed messenger. — The narrative leads
us to believe that these things were
under the control of Satan, though
by the permission of God ; and his
power over the lightnings and the
winds (ver, 19) may serve to illus-
trate the declaration, that he is the
" Prince of the power of the air," in
Eph. ii. 2.

17. ThcChaldeans. The LXX trans-
late this qI irtTifiq, the horsemen.

20

JOB.

ingj there came also another,
and said, The Chaldeans made
out three bands, and ^ fell upon
the camels, and have carried

1 rushed.

Why they thus expressed it is un-
known. It may be possible that the
Chaldeans were supposed to be dis-
tinguished as horsemen, and were
principally known as such in their
predatory excursions. But it is im-
possible to account for all the changes
made by the LXX in the text. The
Syriac and the Chaldee render it
correctly, Cluddeans. The Chaldeans
(Heb. Ci':ib3 Kasdlvi) were the an-
cient inhabitants of B;ibylonia. Ac-
cording to Vitringa (Com. in Isa.
Tom. i. p 412, c. xiii. 19), Cesenius
(Comm. zu Isa. xxiii. 13), and Rosen-
mUller (Bib. Geog. 1, 2, p. 36 seq.),
the Chaldees or Casdini were a war-
like people who originally inhabited
the Carducbian mountains, north of
Assyria, and the northern part of
Mesopotamia. According to Xeno-
phon (Cyrop. iii. 2, 7) the Chaldees
dwelt in the mountains adjacent to
Armenia, and they were found in the
same region in the campaign of the
younger Cyrus, and the retreat of
the ten thousand Greeks. Xen. Ana-
ba. iv. 3, 4; v. 5, 9; viii. 8, 14.
They were allied to the Hebrews, as
appears fi-om Gen. xxii. 22, where

Chcsed ('^^.S whence Casdlm) the
ancestor of the people is mention-
ed as a son of Nahor, and was
consequently the nephew of Abra-
ham. And further, Abraham him-
self emigrated to Canaan from
Ur of the Chaldees (o^'nrS ^1X, Ur
of the Casdlm)., Gen. xi. 28 ; and
in Judith v. 6, the Hebrews them-
selves are said to be descended from
the Chaldeans. The region around
the river Chaboras, in the northern
part of Mesopotamia, is called by
Ezekiel (i. 3) the land of the Chal-
deans. Jeremiah (v. 15) calls them
"an ancient nation." See Notes on
Isa. xxiii. 13. The Chaldeans were

them away, yea, and slain the
servants with the edge of the
sword ; and I only am escaped
alone to tell thee.

a fierce and warlike people, and
when they were subdued by the As-
syrians, a portion of them appear to
have been placed in Babylon to ward
oil* the incursions of the neighboring
Arabians. In time they gained the
ascendency over their Assyrian mas-
ters, and grew into the mighty em-
pire of Chaldea or Babylonia. A.
part of them, however, appear to
have remained in their ancient coun-
try, and enjoyed under the Persians
some degree of liberty. Gesenius
supposes that the Kurds who have
inhabited those regions, at least since
the middle ages, are probably the
descendants of that people. — A very
vivid and graphic description of the
Clialdcans is given by the prophet
Ilabakkuk, which will serve to illus-
trate the passage before us, and show
that they retained until his times the
predatory and fierce character which
they had in the days of Job. Ch. i.
6—11:

For lo I laise np tlie Chaldeans,

A bitter and hasty nation,

Which marches far and wide in the earth,

To possess the dwellings which are not theirs.

They are terrible and dreadful,

Their judgments proceed only fiom themselves.

Swifter than leopards aio tlieir horses,

And fiercer than the evening wolves.

Tlieir horsemen prance proudly around-,

And their horsemen shall come from afar and

fly,

Like the eagle v.'hcn he pounces on his prey.

They all shall come for violence,

In troops — their glance is c\'ct furirard!

They gather captives like the sand!

And they scoff at kings.

And princes are a scorn unto them.

Tjiey deride every strong nold ;

They cast up [mounds of] earth and take it.

This warlike people ultimately ob
tained the ascendency in the Assy-
rian empire. About the year -597
B. C. Nabopolassar, a viceroy in Ba-
bylon, made himself independent of
Assyria, contracted an alliance with
Cyaxares, king of IMcdia, and with
his aid subdued Nineveh, and the

CHAPTER I.

21

18 While he was yet speak-
ing, there came also another,
and said, Thy sons and thy
daughters loerc eating and drink-
ing wine in their eldest brother's
house :

19 And behold, there came a

whole of Assyria. From that time
the Babylonian empire rose, and the
history of the Chaldeans becomes tlie
history of Babylon. — Roh. Cahnet.
In the time of Job, however, they
were a predatory race that seem to
have wandered far for the sake of
plunder. They came from the North,
or the East, as the Sabeans came
from the South. II Made otit three
bands. Literally, ' three heads.' That
is, they divided themselves, for the
sake of plunder, into three parties.
Perhaps the three thousand camels of
Job (ver. 3) occupied three places
remote from each other, and the ob-
ject of the speaker is to say that the
whole were taken. IT And fell upon
the camels. Marg. ' And rushed.'
The word is different from that
which in ver. 15 is rendered fedl.
The word here used (-2^3) means
to spread out, to expand. It is spo-
ken of hostile troops, 1 Chron. xiv.
9, 13; of locusts which spread over
a country, Nah. iii. 16; and of an
army or company of marauders, Juclg.
ix. 33, 44, 1 Sam. xxvii. 8. This is
its sense here.

18. Eating., and drinking loinc.
Notes on vs. 4, 13.

19. There came a great icind. Such
tornadoes are not less common in
Oriental countries than they are with
us. Indeed they abound more in re-
gions near the equator than they do
in those whicli are more remote ; in
hot countries than in those of higher
latitude. H From the icilderness.
Marg. From aside. That is, from
aside the wilderness. The word here
rendered ' from aside ' in the mar-
gin ("1:225^) means properly from
across., and is so rendered by Dr.
Good. The word ^^y <^^e^' nieans

great wind from ^ the wilderness,
and smote the four corners of the
house, and it fell upon the young
men, and they are dead ; and I
only am escaped alone to tell
thee.

1 from aside.

literally a region or country beyond,
or on the other side, sc. of a river or
a sea, which one must pass. Judg.
xi. 18. Gen. 1. 10, 11. Deut. i. 1, 5.
Then it means on the other side, or
beyond. See Notes on Isa. xviii. 1.
Here it means that the tornado came
sweeping across the desert. On the
ample plains of Arabia it would have
the opportunity of accumulating its
desolating power, and would sweep
every thing before it The Hebrew
word here rendered ivilderncss, ^'^l^j
does not express exactly what is de-
noted by our word. We mean by it,
usually, a region wholly unculti-
vated, covered with forests, and the
habitation of wild beasts. The He-
brew word more properly denotes a
desert; an uninhabited region, a ste-
rile, sandy country, though sometimes
adapted to pasture. In many places
the word would be well translated
by the phrases opc7i fields., or open
plains. Comp. Joel ii. 22. Ps. Ixv. 13.
Jer. xxiii. 10. Isa. xlii. 11. Gen. xiv.
6, xvi. 7. Ex. iii. 1, xiii. 18. Deut. xi.
24. Comp. Isa. xxxii. 15, xxxv. 1, I.
2. IT And smote the four corners of
the house. Came as a tornado usually
does,'^r like a v.'hirlvvind. It seem-
ed to come from all points of the
compass, and prostrated every thing
before it. ^ Jind it fell upon the
young men. The word here ren-
dered "young men" is the same
which is rendered in vs. 15, 17.
servants (tS'^'^^Si^). There can be
no reasonable doubt, however, that
the messenger by the word here re-
fers to the children of Job. It is
remarkable that his daughters are
not particularly specified, but they
may be included in the word here
used (D"^'n5!3)j which may be the

22

JOB.

20 Then Job arose, and rent" | and fell * down upon the ground,
his ^ mantle, and shaved his head, | and worshipped,

aGe. 37. 29. loi, robe. blFe.5.5.

same in signification as our phrase
*■ yoimg people,'' including both sexes.
So it is rendered by Eichhorn : Es
sturtze iiber den jungen Leuten zu-
s am men.

20. Then Job arose. The phrase
to arise, in the Scriptures is often
used in the sense of beginning to do
any thing. It does not necessarily
imply that the person had been pre-
viously sitting. See 2 Sam. xiii. 31.
IT Jind rent his mantle. The word
here rendered mantle (/^^.^.) means
an upper or outer garment The
dress of Orientals consists principally
of an under garment or tunic — not
materially ditfering from the shirt
with us — except that the sleeves arc
wider, and under this large and loose
pantaloons. Niebuhr, Reisebescreib.
i. 157. Over these garments they
often throw a full and flowing man-
tle or robe. This is made without
sleeves ; it reaches down to the
ankles ; and when they walk or
exercise it is bound around the m.id-
dle with a girdle or sash. Wh.en
they labor it is usually laid aside.
The robe here referred to was worn
sometimes by women, 2 Sara. xiii.
18; by men of birth and rank, and
by kings, 1 Sam. xv. 27, xviii. 4, xxiv.
5, 12 5 by priests, 1 Sam. xxviii. 14,
and especially by the High Priest
under the ephod, Ex. xxviii. 31. See
Braun de vest. Saceid. ii. 5. Schroe-
der dc vest, mulier. Heb. p. 267;
Hartniann Hobraerin, iii. p. 512, and
Tliesau. Antiq. Sacra, by Ugolin,
Tom. i. 509, iii. 74, iv. 504, viii. 90,
1000, xii. 788, xiii. 306. Comp.
Notes on Matth. v. 40, and Niebuhr,
as quoted above. The custom of
rending the garment as an expression
of grief prevailed not only among
the Jews but also among the Greeks
and Romans. Livy i. 13. Suetonius,
in Jul. Cms. 33. It prevailed also
among the Persians. Curtius, B. x. c.
5, § 17. Sec Christian Boldich, in
Thesau. Anliq. Sacra. Tom. xii. u.

145; also Tom. xiii. 551, 552,560,
xxxiii. 1105, 1112. In proof also
that the custom prevailed among the
Heathen, see Diod. Sic. Lib. i. p. 3,
c. 3, respecting the Egyptians ; Lib.
xvii. respecting the Persians; Q,uin.
Curt. iii. 11 ; Herod. Lib. iii. in
Thalia, Lib. viii. in Urania, where he
speaks of the Persians. So Plutarch
in his life of Antony, speaking of the
deep grief of Cleopatra, says, Treoi.fo-
orj^atoTniq TtfTtkovq ITT avro). Thus
ilerodian. Lib. i. : y.at grj^afi^'yt]
fo&T]ra. So Statins in Glaucum :
Tu niodo fusus humi, lucem aversaris iniquam,
Nunc torvus pariter vestes, et pectora rumpis.
So Virgil :

Tunc pius-^neas humeris abscindeie vestem,
Auxilioque vocare Decs, et tendere palmas.

^11. V. 685.
Demittunt mcntes ; it scissa veste Latinus,
Congugis attonitus fatis, uibisque ruina.

^n. A-ii. G09.
So Juvenal, Sat. x :

ut piimos edere plnnctus
Cassandra incipGret, scissaque Polyxena palla

Numerous other quotations from the
classic writers, as well as from the
Jewish wriiings, may be seen in
LTgolin's Sacerdotiuui Hebriacnm,
cap. vi. Thesau. Antiq. Sacrar. Tom.
xiii. p. 550, seq> M And shaved his
head. This was also a common
mode of expressing great sorrow.
Sometimes it was done by formally
cutting off the hair of the head ;
sometimes by plucking it violently
out by the roots, and sometimes also
the beard was plucked out, or cut off.
The idea seems to have been that
mourners should divest themselves of
that which was usually deemed most
ornamental. Comp. Jer. vii. 29 Isa.
vii. 20. Lucian says that the Egyp-
tians expressed their grief by cutting
off their hair on the death of their
god Apis, and the Syrians in the
same manner at the death of Adonis.
Olympiodorus remarks on this pas-
sage, that the people among whom
long hair was regarded as an orna-
ment, cut it off in times of mourning;
but those who commonly wore short

CHAPTER L

23

21 And said, Naked" came T
out of my mother's womb, and
naked sliall I return thither : T]ie

a 1 Ti. C>. 7.

b La. 3. 38.

hair, suffered it on sucli occasions to
grow long. See Rosenmiiller, Mor-
genland, in loc. A full description
of the customs of the Hebrews in
times of mourning, and particularly
of the custom of plucking out the
hair, may be seen in Martin Geier,
de Hebra'orum Luctu, especially in
ch. viii. Thesau. Antiq. Sacra, xxxiii.
p. 147, seq. — The meaning here is,
that Job was filled with excessive
grief, and that he expressed that
grief in the manner that was com-
mon in his day. Nature demands
that there should be so7ne external
expression of sorrow ; and religion
does not forbid it. He pays a tribute to
the nature with which God has en-
dowed him who gives an appropriate
expression to sorrow ; he wars against
that nature who attempts to remove
from his countenance, conversation,
dress, and dwelling, everything that
is indicative of the sorrows of his
soul in a time of calamity. Jesus
wept at the grave of Lazarus ; and
religion is not designed to make the
heart insensible or incapable of grief.
Piety, like every kind of virtue, al-
ways increases the susceptibility of
the soul to suffering. Philosophy
and sin destroy sensibility ; but reli-
gion deepens it. Philosophy does it
on principle — for its great object is to
render the heart dead to all sensi-
bility ; sin produces the same cfiect
naturally. The drunkard, the licen-
tious man, and the man of avarice,
are incapable of being aflected by the
tender scenes of life. Guilt has pa-
ralyzed their feelings and rendered
them dead. But religion allows men
to feel, and then shows its power in
sustaining the soul, and in imparting
Its consolations to the heart that is
6roken and sad. It comes to dry up
the tears of the mourner, not to for-
bid those tears to flow ; to pour the
balm of consolation into the heart, not
to teach the heart to be unfeeling.

Lord ^ gave, and the Lord hath
taken away ; blessed ^ be the
name of the Lord.

c Ps. 89. 38, 52.

M And fell dotvn ujwn the ground. So
Joshua in a time of great calamity
prostrated himself upon the earth
and worshipped, Josh. vii. 6. — The
Orientals w'ere then in the habit, as
they are now, of prostrating them-
selves on the ground as an act of
homage. Job seems to have done
this partly as an expression of grief,
and partly as an act of devotion —
solemnly bowing before God in the
time of his great trial. H And wor-
shipped. Worshipped God. He re-
signed himself to l)is v/ill. A pious
man has nowhere else to go in trial ;
and he will desire to go nowhere
else than to the God who has af-
flicted him.

21. And said, A''akcd came I out.
That is, destitute of property, for so
the connexion demands. Comp.
1 Tim. vi. 7: " For we brought
nothing into this world, and it
is certain we can carry nothing
out." A similar expression also
occurs in Pliny, Homincm natu-
ra tantum nudum. Nat. His. Proem.
L. vii. Job felt that he was stripped
of all, and that he must leave the
world as destitute as he entered it.
IT M\j mother's xcomh. The earth —
the universal mother. That he re-
fers to the earth is apparent, because
he speaks of returning thither again.
The Chaldee adds J^J^'^^^lp "^^i^—
to the house of burial. The earth is
often called the mother of mankind.
See Cic. de Nat. Deor. ii. 26. Comp.
Ps. cxxxix. 15. Dr. Good remarks, that
" the origin of all things from the
earth introduced, at a very early pe-
riod of the world, the superstitious
worship of the earth, under the title
of Dameter, or the Mother-goddess, a
Chaldee term, probably common to
Idumea at the time of the existence
of .Tob himself It is hence the
Greeks derive their /itj^iritriq (De-
meter), or as they occasionally wrote

24

JOB.

22 In ° all this Job sinned not,

a c. 2. 10.

it r/]ftt]rtjo (Ge-meter), or mother
earth, to whom they appropriated
annually two religious festivals of
extraordinary pomp and solemnity.
Thus Lucretius says,

" Linquitur, ut merito maternum nomen

adepta
Terra eji, e terra qucniam sunt cuncta
creatn. v. 793.

" Whence justly earth

Claims the dear name of mother, since alone
Flowed from herself whate'er the sight
enjoys."

For a full account of the views of the
ancients in regard to tiie marriage
(ifooq yafinq) of the ' heaven' and the
' earth,' from wliich union all things
were supposed to proceed, see Creu-
zer's Symbolik und Mythologie der
alt. Volk. Erst. Theil, p. 26, fg.
II Andnahed. Stripped ofiUl, I shall
go to the common motlier of the
race. This is exceedingly beautiful
language ; and in tlie mouth of Job
it was expressive of the most submis-
sive piety. It is not the language of
complaint ; but was in him connected
with the deep feeling that the loss of
his property v.'as to be traced to God,
and that he had a right to do as he
had done. IT Tlie Lord gave. Heb.
Jehovah. He had nothing when he
came into the world, and all that he
had obtained had been by the good
providence of God. As he gave it,
he had a rigiit to remove it. Such
was the feeling of Job, and such is the
true language of submission every-
where. He who has a proper view
of what he possesses will feel that it
is all to be traced to God, and that
he has a right to remove it when he
pleases. H .ind the Lord, hath taken
away. It is not by accident ; it is
not tlie result of hap-hazard ; it is not
to be traced to storms and winds and
the bad passions of men. It is the
result of intelligent design, and who-
ever has been the agent or instru-
ment in it, it is to be referred to the
overruling providence of God. Why
did not Job vent his wrath on the

nor ' charged God foolishly

1 or, attributed folly to God.

Sabeans ? V/hy did he not blame
the Chaldeans.' ^^ hy did he noi
curse the tempest and the storm ?
Why did he not blame his sons for
exposing themselves .' Why not sus-
pect the malice of Satan .'' Why not
suggest that the calamity was to be
traced to bad fortune, to ill-luck, or
to an evil administration of human
afl'airs ? None of these things oc-
curred to Job. He traced the remo-
val of his property and his loss of
children at once to God, and found
consolation in the belief that an in-
telligent and holy Sovereign pre-
sided over his affairs, and that he
had removed only what he gave.
H Blessed be the 7iame of the Lord.
That is, blessed be Jf.hoyah — the
name of any one in Hebrew being
often used to denote the person him-
self. The Svriac, Arabic, and some
MSS. of the" LXX here add, "/or
crer." — " Here," says Schmid, " the
contrast is observable between the
object of Satan, vhich was to induce
Job to renounce God, and the result
of the temptation, v.'hich was to lead
Job to bless God." Thus far Satan
had been foiled, and Job had sus-
tained the shock of the calamity,
and showed that he did not serve
God on account of the benefits which
he had received from him.

22. In all this. In all his feelings
and expressions on this occasion.
*r Job siiuied not. He expressed just
the feelings, and manifested just the
submission which he ought to do.
U JVor charged God foolishly. Marg.
Attributed folly to God. Vulg.
" Neither did he speak any foolish
thing against God." The LXX render
it, " and he did not impute [or giAt?,
f'fJojxf;'] folly (dqxmovfji') [indiscre-
tion, Thovipson'] to God." Good ren-
ders this, " nor vented a murmur
against God ;" and remarks that the
literal rendering would be, " nor
vented froth against God." Tindal
renders it, "nor murmured foolishly
against God." The Hebrew word

CHAPTER I.

25

f^^fifl is derived from the obsolete
root ^S5n , tdphdl, to spit out; and
hence to be insipid, tasteless, not
seasoned The noun, therefore,
means properly that which is spit
out; then th;it which is insipid or
tasteless; and then folly. Wit and
wisdom are represented by Oriental
writers as pungent and ser.soned.
Comp. the expression among the
Greeks of" Attic salt,'' meaning wit
i>r wisdom. The word folly in the
Scriptures often means wickedness,
for this is supreme folly. Here it has
this sense, and means that Job did
not say any thing wrong. Satan was
disappointed, and had borne a false
accusation before God. He did not
charge God foolishly, and he did not
curse him to his face.

From this instr'jctive narrative of
the manner in which Job received
afflictions, we may learn, (1.) That
true piety will bear the removal of
property and friends without mur-
muring. Religion is not based on
isuch things, and their removal can-
not shake it. It is founded deejier
in the soul, and mere external chang-
es cannot destroy it. (2.) When we
cire afflicted, we should not vent our
wrath on winds and waves; on the
fraud and perndy of our fellow-men ;
on embarrassments and changes in
ilie commercial world; on the pesti-
lence and the storm. Any or all of
these may be employed as instru-
ments in taking away our property
or our friends, but we should trace
the calamity ultimately to God.
►Storms and winds and waves, ma-
lignant spirits and our fellow-men,
do no more than God permits. They
ere all restrained and kept w^ithin
proper limits. They are not directed
by chance, but they are under the
control of an intelligent Being, and
are the wise appointment of a holy
God. (3 ) God has a right to reniove
our comforts. * He gave them — not
to be our permanent inheritance, but
to be withdrawn when he pleases.
It is a proof of goodness that we have
been permitted to tread his earth so
Vjng — thouffh we should be allowed

to walk it no more; to breathe his
air so long— though we should bo
permitted to inhale it no more; to
look upon his sun and moon, and
stars so long — though we should be
permitted to walk by tiieir light no
more ; to enjoy the society of iho
friends wdiom he lias given us so
long — though we should enjoy that
society no longer. A temporary gift
may be removed at the pleasure of
the giver, and we hold all our com-
forts at tlse mere good pleasure of
God. (4.) We see the nature of true
resignation. It is not because we
can always see the reason why we
are afflicted ; it consists in bowing to
the will of a holy and intelligent
God, and in the feeling that he has a
right to remove what lie has given
us. It is his; and may be taken
away when he pleases. It may be,
and should be yielded, without a
murmur — and to do this because God
wills it, is true resignation. (5.) W^e
see the true source of comfort in
trials. It is not in the belief that
things are regulated by chance and
liap-hazard; or even that they are
controlled by physical laws. We
may have the clearest philosophical
view of the mode in which tempests
sweep away property, or the pesti-
lence our friends ; we may under-
stand the laws by which all this is
done, but this affords no consolation.
It is only when we perceive an irt-
tcUigent Being presiding over these
events, and see that they are the re-
sult of plan and intention on his
part, that we can find comfort in
trial. What satisfaction is it for me
to understand the law^ by which fire
burns when my property is swept
away ; or to know ho%o disease acts
on the human frame when my child
dies; or how the plague produces its
efl^ects on the body when friend after
friend is laid in the grave ^ This is
Philosophy; and this is the consola-
tion which this world furnishes. I
want some higher consolation than
that which results from the know-
ledge of unconscious laws. I want
to have the assurance that it is the

20

JOB.

result of intelligent design, and that
this design is connected with a bene-
volent end — ond that I find only in
religion. (6.) W^e see the power of
religion in sustaining in the time of
trial. How calm and submissive was
this holy man ! How peaceful and
resigned ! Nothing else but piety
could have done this. Philosophy
blunts the feelings, paralyzes the sen-

sibilities, and chills the soul ; but it
does not give consolation. It is only
confidence in God ; a feeling that he
is right; and a profound and holy
acquiescence in his will, that can
produce support in trials like these.
This we may have as well as Job ;
and this is indispensable in a world
so full of calamity and sorrow as
tins is.

CHAPTER II.

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER.

Tlie second trial of Job. The day returns when the sons of God come to present themselves
before God, ver. 1. — Jehovah inquires of Satan whence he came, and particularly whether he
had attentively considered the case of Jo!), and that ho held fast his integrity notwithstanding
his afflictions, vs. 2, 3. — Satan answers, that it was because he had not been afflicted enough ;
tliat if lie was subjected to bodily sutierings lie would curse Jehovah to his face, vs. 4, 5. —
God consents that Job should be subjected to a secotid tiial, only on the condition that his life
should be spared, ver. 6. — Job's soie affliction, vs. 7, 8.— His wife conjures him to curse God
artd die, ver. 9. — Job's stern rebuke of his wife, and calm submission to God, ver. 10. — The visit
cf his three friends to condole with him, and heir amazement at the extent of his sufferings,
vs. 11—13.

A GAIN " there was a day when
•^^ the sons of God came to
present themselves before the
Lord, and Satan came also
among them to present himself
before the Lord.

2 And the Lord said unto
Satan, From whence comest
thou 1 And Satan answered the

ac. 1. 6, &c.

1. Again there icas a day ^ ^-c. See
Notes, ch. i. 6. These seasons are
represented as periodical, when the
angels came, as it were, to make re-
port to God of v/hat they had observ-
ed and done. The Clialdee renders
this, " And there was a day of the
great judgment (^5*!! ^1"'"^. ^'^'^),a. day
of the remission of sins (P^^'-^ C"^
^!^?n*'P), and there came bands C^lTi;:)
of angels." IT To jnescvt himself hc-

LoRD, and said, From going to
and fro in the earth, and from
walking up and down in it.

3 And the Lord said unto
Satan, Hast thou considered my
servant Job, that there is none
like, him in the earth, a perfect
and an upright man, one that
feareth God, and escheweth evil 1

fore the Lord. This does not occur
in the former statement in ch. i. 6.
It here means that he came before
the Lord after he had had permission
to afHict Job. The Chaldce renders
it " that he might stand in judgment
(.S3 ^-12) before the Lord."

2. And the Lord said unto Satan, S^c.
See Notes on ch. i. 7.

3. Hast thou considered. Notes ch.
i. 8. IT That there is none like him in
the earth. The same addition is mado

CHAPTER II.

37

and still he holdeth fast his in-
tefrrity, ^ although thou movedst
me ngainst him, to ' destroy him
without cause.

«c.. 27.5,G. Ps, 2G.1.41.12. \ sicallow Idin vp.

verc by tlie Septuagint which occurs
in ch. i. 1. See Notes on that verse.
Y Jlad still he holdeth fast his intcjr-
■rity. Notwithstanding all the efibrts
made to show that his piety was the
result of mere selfishness. The word
integrity here C^'!^^*!}) means -per-
fection; another form of the word
which is rendered " perfect" in ch. i.
1. See Notes on that verse. '^ M-
tJioiigh thou movedst vie. The word
rendered " movedst" (H^D) means
to incite, to impel, to urge, to irritate
against anyone. Josh. xv. 18. Judg.
i. 14. 2 Chron xviii. 2. 1 Sam. xxvi.
19. Jer. xliii. 3. The LXX render
this in a peculiar manner, " And
thou hast ordered (elTiaq) his prop-
erty to he destroyed in vain "
{d'Lay.fvrjq), i. e. without accomplish-
ing the purpose intended. II To de-
stroy him. The word here used

(from ^?^) means properly to swal-
low, to devour, with the idea of
eagerness or greediness. It is then
used in the sense of to consume, or
destroy. Comp. Joh xx. 18. Prov.
i. 12. Num. xvi. 30. Ps. Ixix. 16. In
the margin it is rendered " swallow
him up." ^l Without cmise. Without
any sufficient reason. The cause as-
signed by Satan (ch. i. 9-11) was,
that the piety of Job was selfish, and
tliat if God should remove his pos-
sessions, he would show that he had
no true religion. God says now that
it was demonstrated that there was
no reason for having made the trial.
The result had shown that the charge
was unfounded, and that his piety
still remamed, though he was stripped
of all that he had. This passage
maj remind us of the speech of Nep-
tune in favor of ^Eneas, Iliad v. 297 :

And can yo see tliis rightoous chief atone
With guiltless blood for vices not hi.'5 own ?

4 And Satan answered the
Lord, and said, Skin, for skin ;
yea, all that a man hath will he
give ^ for his life.

b Matt. 6. 2.5.

To all the 3;ods his constant vows were paid ;
Sure though he wars for Troy lie claims our

aid.
Fate wills not tliis — Pope.

4. Skin for shin. This is a pro-
verbial expression, whose origin is
unknown, nor is its meaning as a
-proverb entirely clear. The general
sense of the passage here is plain, for
it is immediately explained that a man
would give every thing which he had
to save his life ; and the idea here in,
that if Job was so afflicted in his
body that he was likely to die, he
would give up all his religion in
order to purchase life. His religion,
which had borne the comparatively
trifling test before applied to it, would
not bear the severer trial if his life
was endangered. In regard to the
proverb itself, a great variety of ex-
planations has been given. The an-
cient versions throw no light on it.
The Vulgate renders it, Pellem jJt'o
pelle. The LXX, JfOfta vTifo df'ofta-
rnq — skin for, or instead of, skin.
The Chaldee renders it, ' member
for member,' ^'^■pS^ b^J^OX .H'^lnX—
and the author of that paraphrase
seems to have supposed that it means
that a man would give the members
of his body or his limbs to preserve
his life. Parkhurst renders it, "skin
after skin," meaning, as he explains
it, that a man may bear to part with
all that he has, and even to have his
skin, as it Avere, stripped ofl' again
and again, provided only that his lifo
is safe. Noyes supposes that it means
that any man will give the skin or
life of another, whether animal or
man, to save his own ; and that Job
gave up all, without complaint, frtvni
the selfish fear of exposing his o\A'n
life to danger. Dr. Good remarks on
the passage, that tlie skins or spoils
of beasts, in the rude and early ages

28

JOB.

of man, were the most valuable prop-
erty lie could acquire, and that for
which he most frequently combated.
Thus Lucretius says,

Tinii igitur pcllcs, nunc aurum ct purpura,

curis
Exercent liominnm vitam, bclloque fatigant.
V. 1452.
'' Then man for skins contenrled ; purple now,
And gold, forever plunge him into wr.r."

fn varioLis parts of the book of Job,
liovrcvor, Dr. Good remarks, tiie
word shin imports the jjcrson of a
man generally as v/ell as his property,
the whole living body which it en-
velopes, as in cIi. xviii. ] 3, xix. 26.
■' It is," says he, " iipon the double
meaning of the same term, and the
play which is here given to it, by
employing tlie tt;rm first in one
sense and then in the other, that the
gist of the proverb, as of a thousand
others similarly constructed, depends.
' Skin for skin' is i-n this view, in
j'lain Englisli, 'property for person,'
or ' t!ie skin forming property for the
skin forming person.' " See a some-
what similar view presented by Cal-
laway, in Bush's Illustrations, z'n/oco.
The "^editor of the Pictorial Bible
coincides mainly with this view, and
suppo.ses that the reference is to the
time when trade was conducted by
barter, and v/hen the skins of ani-
mals, being a most frequent and val-
uable commodity, were used to rep-
resent property. Tributes, ransoms,
&c., he observes, were paid in skins.
According to this, it means that a
man would give 'skin upon skin ;' that
is, would pile one piece of property
upon another, and give nil tJiat he
had, in order to save Ins life. It re-
fers to the necessity of submitting to
one great evil rather tlian incur a
greater, answering to the Turkisli
proverb, " We must give our beards
to save our heads." According to Ge-
senius, it means " life for life." Dru-
sius explains it as meaning, that he
would give the skin of others, as of
his sons, to save his own ; that is,
that he was unmoved so long as his
own skin or life was safe. The same
view is given by Ephrcm ll)o Syrian.

*' Skin for skin ; the skin not only of
flocks, but even of his sons v»'ill he
give, in order to save his own. ' This
view also is adopted by Uinbrcil.
That is, his religion was supremely
selfish. Tlie loss of property and
even of children he could bear, pro-
vided his person was untouched. His
own health, and life ; his owr. skin
and body were dearer to him than
any thing else. Other naen would
have been afflicted by the loss of
children and property. But Job was
willing to part with any or all of
these, provided he himself was safe.
Rosennjiiller supposes that the word
skin here is used for the whole body ;
and says that the sense is, that he
would give the body of another for
his own, as in Ex. xxi. 23. "The
meaning of this proverbial formula,'
says he, " is, that any one would re-
deem his own safety by the skin of
others ; that is, not only by the skins
or lives of oxen, camels, servants,
but even of his own children."
Schultens supposes it means that a
man would submit to any sufferings
in order to save his life ; that he
would be willing to be flayed alive ;
to be repeatedly excoriated ; to hav'e,
so to speak, one skin stripped off af-
ter another, if he might save his own
life. According to this, the idea is,
that the loss of life was the great ca-
lamity to be feared, and that a man
would give any thing in order to save
it. Umbreit says, " there is nothing sc
vaknible to a man that he will not ex-
change it — one thing for another ,
one outward good for another, skin,
for shin. But life, the inward good,
is to him of no value that can be es-
timated. That he will give for no-
thing ; and much more, he will offer
every thing for that." Another solu-
tion is offered in the Biblische Unter-
suchungen. ii. Th. s. 83. " Before the
use of gold, traffic was conducted
chiefly by barter. JMen exchanged
what was valuable to themselves for
what otliers had which they wanted.
Those wh.o hunted wild beasts would
briuir their skins to market, and would

CHAPTER II.

29

5 But put forth thine hand
now, and touch his bone and his

Since tlie.se traffickers were exposed
to the clanger of being robbed, they
often took with them those who
were armed, who agreed to defend
them on condition that they should
Iiave a part of the skins which they
took, and in this way they purchased
their property and life." That is, lliey
gave the skins of animals for the
safety of their own ; all that they
had they would surrender, in order
that their lives might be saved. See
Roscnmiiller's Morgenland, in loc.
None of these solutions appear to me
perfectly satisfictory, and the pro-
verb is involved in perplexity still.
It seems to refer to some kind of bar-
ter or exchange, and to mean tljat a
man would give up one thing for an-
other ; or one piece of property of
less value in order to save a greater ;
and that in like manner he would he
willing to suriender every thing, ]n
order that his life, the most valuable
object, might be preserved. But the
exact meaning of the proverb, I sus-
pect, has not yet been perceived.
*r Yea, all that a man hath. This is
evidently designed to express the
same thing as the proverb, "skin for
skin," or to furnish an illustration of
that. The meaning is plain. A man
is willing to surrender all that he has,
in order to preserve his life. He will
part with property and friends, in or-
der that he may be kept alive. If a
man therefore is to be reached in the
most tender and vital part; if any
thing is to be done that shall truly
reveal his character, his life must be
put in danger, and his true character
will then be revealed. The object
of SafSn is to say, that a test had not
been applied to Job of sufficient se-
verity to show what he really was.
What he had lost was a mere trifle
compared with what would be if he
was subjected to severe bodily sufFer-
ings, so that his life would be in peril.
It is to be remembered that these are
the words of Satan, and that they

flesh, and he will cuise thee to
thy face.

are not necessarily true. Inspiration
is concerned only in securing the ex-
act record of what is said, not in af-
firming that all that is said is true.
V/e shall have frequent occasion to
illustrate this sentiment in other por-
tions of the book. In regard to tlje
sentiment here expressed, however,
it is in general true. Men will sur-
render their property, their houses,
and lands, and gold, to save their
lives. Many, too, would see their
friends perish, in order that they
might be saved. It is not universally
true, however. It is possible to con-
ceive that a man might so love his
property as to submit to any torture,
even endangering life, rather than
surrender it. Many, too, if endan-
gered by shipwreck, would give up a
plank in order to save their wives or
children, at the risk of their own lives.
Jtlany will give their lives rather
than surrender tlieir liberty; and
many would die rather than abandon
their principles. Such were the no-
ble CIsristian martyrs ; and such a
man was Job. Satan urged that if
his life were made wretched, he
would abandon his integrity, and
show that his professed piety was
selfish, and hi.s religion false and hol-
low. The Syriac and Arabic add,
" that he may be safe."

5. But put forth thine hand now.
Satan felt that he had no power to af-
flict Job witiiout permission. Malig-
nant as he was, he knew that God
only could subject the holy man to this
trial — another proof that Satan is un-
der the control of the Almighty, and
j acts only as he is permitted to act in
tempting and trying the good. M And
touch his bone. See Note on ch.i.ll.
Afflict his body so as to endanger his
life. The words " bone" and "flesh"
denote the whole body. The idea
was, that the whole body should be
subjected to severe pain. IT .^nd he
icill curse thee to thy face. Notes on
ch i. 11.

30

JOB.

6 And the Lord said unto
Satan, Behold, he is in thine
hand ; ^ but save his life.

7 So went Satan forth from

1 or, only.

6. Behold, he is in thine hand. He
is at thy disposal. See ch. i. 12,
JMargin. H But save his life. Marg.
Only. This was to be the only limit-
ation. It would seem that he had
the power to make any selection of
disease, and to afflict him in any
manner, provided it did not terminate
fatally. The keen sorrows which
Job atlerwards endured showed the
malignancy of the Tempter ; evinced
his ingenuity in inflicting pain, and
his knowledge of what the human
frame could be made to bear.

7. So tccnt Su tan forth. Ch. i. 12.
II And smote Job with sore boils. The
English word boll denotes the well
known tumor upon the flesh, accom-
panied with severe inflammation ; a
sore angry swelling. J'/cbster. The
Hebrew v/ord, however, is in the
singular number ("pH'IJ)^ and should
have been so rendered in our trans-
lation. Dr. Good renders it " a burn-
ing ulceration.'" The Vulgate trans-
lates it, 7ilcerc pcssi/no. The Septua-
gint, ely.et, tiovijom — zcith afoululcer.
The Hebrew word VH'-? means a
burning sore, an inflamed ulcer, a
bile. Gcscnius. It is derived from
l"!'-^ shdhhdn, an obsolete root, re-
tained in Arabic, and meaning to be
hot or inflamed. It is translated bile
or boil, in Ex.. ix. 9, 10, ] 1, Lev. xiii.

18, 2 Kings XX. 7, Isa. xxxviii. 21
(.see Notes on that place). Lev. xiii.

19, 20, Job ii. 7; and botch, Deut.
xxviii. 27, 35. The word does not
occur elsewhere in the Scriptures.
In Deut. xxviii. 27, it means " the
botch of Egypt,'" some species of lep-
ro.sy, undoubtedly, which prevailed
there. In regard to the disease of
Job, we may learn some of its char-
acteristics, not only from the usual
meaning of the word, but from the
circumstances mentioned in the book
itself It was such that he took a

the presence of the Lord, and
smote Job with sore boils from
the sole of his foot unto his
crown.

potsherd to scrape him.self with, ch.
ii 8; such as to m.ake his nights rest-
less, and full of tossings to and fro,
and to clothe his flesh with clods of
dust, and with worms, and to break
his flesh, or to constitute a running
sore or ulcer, ch. vii. 4, 5; such as
to make him bite his flesh for pain,
ch. xiii. 14, and to make him like a
rotten thing, or a garment that is
moth-eaten, ch. xiii. 28 ; such that
his face was foul with weeping, ch.
xvi. 16, and such as to fill him with
wrinkles, and to make his flesh lean,
ch. xvi. 8 ; such as to make his
breath corrupt, ch. xvii. 1, and his
bones cleave to his skin, ch. xix. 20,
26 ; such as to pierce his bones with
pain in the night, ch. xxx. 17, and to
make his skin black, and to burn up
his bones with heat, ch. xxx. 30. It
has been commonly supposed that
the disease of Job was a species of
black leprosy commonly called Ele-
phantiasis, which prevails much in
Egypt. This disease received its
name from ilf'qaq, an elephant, from
the swelling produced by it, causing
a resemblance to that animal in the
limbs; or because it rendered the
skin like that of the elephant, sca-
breous and dark colored. It is called
by the Arabs jndhdm (Dr. Good),
and is said to produce in the counte-
nance a grim, distorted, and lion-liJie
set of features, and hence has been
called by some Leontiasis. It is
known as the black leprosy, to distin-
guish it from a more common disor-
der called tvhite leprosy — an aflTection
which the Greeks call Lctice, or
ivhiteness. The disease of Job scorns
to have been a universal ulcer; pro-
ducing an eruption over his entire
person, and attended with violent
pain, and constant restlessness. A
universal bile or groups of biles over
the body would accord with the ac-
count of the disease in the yarious

CHAPTER II.

31

8 And he took him a potsherd
to scrape himself withal ; and he
sat down among the ashes."

a Matt. 11. 21.

parts of the book. In the elephanti-
asis tlio skin is covered with incrust-
ations like those of an elephant. It
is a chronic and contagious disease,
marked by a thickening of the legs,
witli a loss of Jiair and feeling, a
swelling of the face, and a hoarse
nasal voice. It affects the whole
body ; the bones as well as the skin
are covered with spots and tumors,
at first red, but afterwards black.
Co.rc, Encij. Wchstcr. It should be
added that the leprosy in all its forms
was regarded as contagious, and of
course involved the necessity of a
separation from society ; and all the
circumstances attending this calamity
were such as deeply to humble a man
of the former rank and dignity of
Job.

8. Aid he took Idvi a potsherd. The
word here used (^'^^H) means a frag-
ment of a broken vessel. See Notes
on Isa. xlv. 9. The LXX render it
ooToay.oi' — « shell. One object of
taking this was to remove from his
body the filtji accumulated by the
universal ulcer, comp. ch.vii. 4, 5;
and another design probably was, to
indicate the greatness of his calamity
and sorrow. The ancients were ac-
customed to show their grief by sig-
nificant external actions (comp. Notes
on ch.i.20), and nothing could more
strongly denote the greatness of the
calamity, than for a man of wealth,
honor, and distinction, to sit down in
the ashes, to take a piece of broken
earthen-ware, and begin to scrape
his body covered over with undress-
ed and most painful sores. It does
not appear that any thing was done
to heal iiim, or any kindness shown
in taking care of his disease. It
would seem that he was at once sep-
arated from his home, as a man whom
none would venture to approach, and
was doomed to endure his suffering
without sympathy from others. H To

9 Then said his wife unto
him, Dost thou still retain thine
integrity ? curse God, and die.

scrape himself loithal. The word
here used (^If?) has the sense of
grating, scraping, sawing ; or to
scrape or rasp with an edged tool.
The same word identically, as to let-
ters, is used at present among the
Arabs ; meaning to rasp or scrape
with any kind of tool. The idea here
seems to be, that Job took the pieces
of broken pottery that he found
among the ashes to scrape himself
with. H And he sat doicn among the
ashes. On the expressions of grief
among the ancients, see Notes on ch.
i. 20. The general ideas of mourn-
ing among the nations of antiquity
seem to have been, to strip oft* all
their ornaments ; to put on the coars-
est apparel, and to place themselves
in the most humiliating positions.
To sit on the ground (see Note on
Isa. iii. 26), or on a heap of ashes, or
a pile of cinders, was a common
mode of expressing sorrow. See
Note on Isa. Iviii. 5. To wear
sackcloth, to shave their heads and
their beards, and to abstain from
pleasant food and from all cheerful
society, and to utter loud and long
exclamations or shrieks, was also a
common mode of indicating grief.
The Vulgate renders this sedens in
slerqzdlijiio, ' sitting on a dungiiil!.'
The LXX, "and he took a shell to
scrape off the ichor (ixoina), the sa-
nies, or filtli produced by a running
ulcer, and sat upon the ashes out of
the city," implying that his grief was
so excessive that he left the city and
his friends, and went out to weep
alone.

9. Then said his icife unto him.
Some remarkable additions are made
by the ancient versions to this pas-
sage. The Chaldee renders it, "and
Dinah ('^3"^), his wife, said to him."
The author of that paraphrase seems
to have supposed that Job lived in
the time of Jacob, and had married

32

JOB.

his daugliter Dinah. Gen. xxx. 21.
Drusius says, that this was tlie opin-
ion of tiie Hebrews, and quotes a
declaration from the Gemara to this
effect : " Job lived in the days of Ja-
cob, and was born when the children
of Israel went down into Egypt ; and
when they departed tiience he died
He lived therefore 210 years, as long
as they were in Egypt." This is
mere tradition, but it shows the an-
cient impression as to the time when
Job lived. The LXX have intro-
duced a remarkable passage here, of
which the following is a translation.
*' After much time had elapsed, his
v.ife said unto him, Hov/ long wilt
thou persevere, saying. Behold, I will
wait a little longer, cherishing the
hope of my recovery ? Behold, the
memorial of thee has disappeared
from the earth — those sons and daugh-
ters, the pangs and sorrows of my
womb, for whom I toiled laboriously
in vain. Even thou sittest among
loathsome worms, passing the night
in the open air, whilst I, a wanderer
and a drudge, from place to place,
and from house to house, watch the
fcun till his going down, that I may
rest from the toils and sorrows that
now oppress me. But speak some
word towards th.e Lord (ri (ytj^^ct fh
y.vutnv) and die." Whence this ad-
dition had its origin, it is impossible
now to say. Dr. Good says it is
found in Theodotion, in the Syriac,
and the Arabic (in this he errs, for it
is not in the Syriac and Arabic in
Walton's Polyglott), and in the Latin
of St. Ambrose. Dathe suggests that
it was probably added by some per-
son who thought it incredible that an
angry woman could be content with
saying so little as is ascribed in the
Hebrew to the wife of Job. It may
have been originally written by some
one in the margin of his Bible by way
of parajdirase, and the transcriber,
seeing it there, may have supposed
it was omitted accidentally from the
text, and so inserted it in the place
where it now stands. It is one of the
many instances, at all events, which
ghow that implicit confidence is not to

be placed in the Septuagint. There
is not the slightest evidence that this
was ever in the Hebrew text. It is
not wholly unnatural, and as an ex-
ercise of the fancy is not without in-
genuity and plausibility, and yet the
simple but abrupt statement in the
Hebrew seems best to accord with
nature. The evident distress of the
wife of Job, according to the whole
narrative, is not so much that she
was subjected to trials, and that she
was com.pelled to wander about with-
out a home, as that Job should be so
patient, and that he did not yield to
the temptation. IF Dost thou still re-
tain thine integrity? Notes ver. 3.
The question implies that, in her
view, he ought not to be expected to
manifest patience and resignation in
these circumstances, lie had endured
evils which showed that confidence
ought not to be reposed in a God wlio
would thus inflict them. This is all
that we know of the wife of Job.
Whether this was her general char-
acter, or whether slie yielded to the
temptation of Satan and cursed God,
and thus heightened the sorrows of
Job by her unexpected impropriety
of conduct, is unknown. It is not
conclusive evidence that her general
character was bad : and it may be
that the strength of her usual virtue
and piety was overcome by accumu-
lated calamities. She expressed, how-
ever, the feelings of corrupt human
nature everywhere when sorely af-

I flictcd. The suggestion ?i-i// cross the
mind, often with almost irresistible
force, that a God who thus afflicts his
creatures is not worthy of confi-
dence j and many a time a child of
God is tempted to give vent to feel-
ings of rebellion and murmuring like
this, and to renounce all his religion.
TI Curse God. See Notes on ch. i. 11.
The Hebrew word is the same. Dr.
Good renders it, "And yet dost thou
hold fast thine integrity, blessing
God and dying.?" Noyes translates
it, "Kenounce God, and die." Ivo-
senmuller and Umbreit, " Bid fare-
well t-o God, and die." Casteliio
renders it. " Give thanks to God and

CHAPTER II.

33

10 Bat he said unto her,
Thou speakest as one of the fool-
ish women speaketh. What ! shall
" we receive good at the hand of

die." The response of Job, howev-
er (ver. 10), shows that he under-
stood her as exciting him to reject,
renounce, or curse God. The sense
is, that she regarded liirn as unwor-
tliy of confidence, and submission as
unreasonable, and she wished Job to
express this and be relieved from
Itis misery. Roberts supposes that
this was a heathen sentiment, and
says that nothing is more common
than for the heathen, under certain
circumstances, to curse tiieir gods.
" Tliat the man who has made expen-
sive offerings to his deity, in hope of
gaining some great blessing, and
who lias been disappointed, will
pour out all his imprecaiions on the
god whose good offices have (as he
believes) been prevented b}'- some
superior deity. A man in reduced
circumstances says, ' Yes, yes, my
god has lost his eyes ; they are put
out; he cannot look after my afiairs.'
' Yes,' said an extremely rich devo-
tee of the supreme god Siva, after
he had lost liis property, ' Shall I
serve, him anymore.'' What I make
offerings to him ! No, no. He is the
lowest of ail gods !' " II And die.
Probably she regarded God as astern
and severe Being, and supposed
•hat by indulging in blasphemy Job
would provoke him to cut him off at
once. She did not expect him to lay
wicked hands on himself. She ex-
pected that God would at once in-
terpose and destroy him. The sense
is, that nothing but death was to be
ex])ected, and tiie sooner he pro-
voked God to cut him off from the
land of the living, the better.

10. As one of the foolish ivomen
spcffkcih. The word here rendered
foolish ("''i-'^?, from ^^J)? means
properl}^ stupid or foolisli, and then
wicked, abandoned, impious — the
idea of sm and folly being closely
connected in the Scriptures, or sin

God, and shall we not receive
evil ? In all this did not Job sin
^ with his lips.

a Ja. 5. 10, 11. b Ps. 39. 1.

being regarded as supreme folly.
1 Sam. XXV. 25. 2 Sam. iii. 33. Ps.
xiv. 1, liii. 2. The Arabs still use
the word with the same compass of
signification. Gcscnius. The word
is here used in the sense of wicked ;
and the idea is, that the sentiment
which she uttered was impious, or
was such as were on the lips of the
wicked. Sanctius supposes that there
is a reference here to Idumean fe-
males, who, like other women, re-
proached and cast away their gods, if
they did not obtain what they asked
when they prayed to them. Homer
represents Achilles and Menelaus as
reproaching the gods. II. i. 353,
iii. 365. See RosenmUller, Morgen-
land, ill loc. H What! shall ice re-
ceive good at the hand of God. Hav-
ing received such abundant tokens of
kindness from him, it was unreason-
able to complain when they were ta-
ken away, and when he sent calam-
ity in their stead. IT And shall we not
receive evil? Shall we not expect it.-*
Shall we not be willing to bear it
when it comes.'' Shall we not have
sufficient confidence in him to be-
lieve that his dealings are ordered in
goodness and equity .'' Shall we at
once lose all our confidence in our
great Benefactor the moment he
takes away our comforts, and visits
us vv ith pain .'' TJiis is the true expres-
sion of piety. It submits to all the
arrangements of God without a mur-
mur. It receives blessings with grat-
itude ; it is resigned when cahiraities
are sent in their place. It esteems it
as a mere favor to be permitted i)
breathe the air which God has made,
to look upon the light of his sun, to
tread upon his earth, to inhale the
fragrance of his flowers, and to enjoy
the society of the friends whom he
gives ; and when he takes one or all
away, it feels that he has taken only
what belongs to him, and withdraws

34

JOB.

11 Now when Job's three
friends heard of all this evil that
was come upon him, they came

a privilege to v/liicli we had no claim.
In addition to that, true piety feels
that all claim to any blessing, if it
had ever existed, has been forfeited
by sin. What right has a sinner to
complain when God withdraws his
favor, and subjects him to suffering.?
What claim has he on God, that
should make it wrong for Him to visit
him with calamity .''

Wherefore doth a living man complain,
A man for the punishment of his sins'?

Lam. iii. 39.

TI In all this did not Job sin rtnth his
lips. See Notes ch. i. 2-2. This re-
mark is made here perhaps in con-
trast with what occurred afterwards.
He subsequently did give utterance
to improper sentiments, and was re-
buked accordingly, but thus far wliat
he had expressed was in accordance
with truth, and with the feelings of
most elevated piety.

11. JVoio ichen Job's three friends
heard. It would seem from this that
these men were his particular friends.
^\ They cajiic every one from his oicn
place. His residence. This was the
result of agreement or appointment
thus to meet together. H Eliphaz the
Temanite. This was the most promi-
nent of his friends. In the ensuing
discussion he regularly takes the lead,
advances the most important and im-
pressive considerations, and is fol-
lowed and sustained by the others.
The LXX render this Elicf.at b Gai-
ftaivMi' i^aadiv-—' Eliphaz, the king
of the Thcmanites.' The Hebrew
does not intimate that he held any of-
fice or rank. The word rendered
Temanile ("'3'2^'n) is a patronymic
from "i^-ri Temdn, meaning properly
at the rigid hand, and then the South.
The Hebrew geographers arc al-
ways represented as looking to the
East, and not towards the North, as
we do ; and hence, with lliem, the

every one from "liis own place :
Eliphaz the Temanite, " and Bil-
dad the Shuhite, ^ and Zophar

aGe.36. U. Je. 49. 7. 6 Ge. 25. 2.

right hand denotes the South. A Te-
man is mentioned in Gen. xxxvi. 15,
as a son of Eliphaz, and grandson of
Esau; but there is no certainty that
the country received its name from
hiui, and if so, nothing can be deter-
mined tVom tiiis about the time when
Eliphaz or Job lived. Eusebius places
Thaeman in Arabia Petrrea, five miles
from Petra (see Notes on Jsa. xvi. 1),
and says that there was a Roman gar-
rison tliere. The Teinanites were
celebrated for wisdom. " Is wisdom
no more in Teman .'" Jer. xlix. 7.
The country was distinguished also
for producing men of strength : " And
thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be
dismayed." Obad. 9. That this coun-
try was a part of Idumea is apparent,
not only from the fact that Teman
was a descendant of Esau, who set-
tled there, but from several places in
the Scriptures. Thus in Ezek. xxv.
13, it is said, " I will also stretch out
mine hand upon Edom, and I will
make it desolate from Teman, and
they of Dedan shall fall by the
sword." In Amos i. 12, Teman is
mentioned as in the vicinity of Boz-
rah, atone time the capital of Idumea:
" But I will send a fire upon Teman,
which shall devour the palaces ofBoz-
rah." See Notcson Isa. xxi. 14. The
inhabitants of this country were dis-
tinguished in early times for wisdom,
and particularly for that kind of wis-
dom which is expressed in close obser-
vation of men and manners, and the
course of events, and which was
expressed in proverbs. TJius they
are mentioned in the book ofBaruch,
iii. 23: "The merchants of JMeran
and of Theman, the authors of fibles,
and searchers out of understanding, ''
at m'OnXoyoL y.al hi }yX>iTr^Tul t?/;
avremoiq. ^ .hid BUdad the Shuhite.
I'he second speaker uniformly in the
following argument. The LXX ren-
der this, " Bildad the sovereign of the

CHAPTER II

35

the Naamathite : for they had
made an appointment together

SaucI

leans, Zavxioivrvoavvoq.

Shi

all n^lL^ (meaning a pit) Avas the name
of a son of Abraliam, by Keturah, and
also of an Arabian tribe, descended
from him. Gen. xxv. 2. " The country
of the Shuhites," says Gesenius, " was
not improbably the same with Xhel^ay.-
y.ala of Ptolemy, 5, 15, eastward of
Batanea." But the exact situation of
the iSIiuhites is unknown. It is diffi-
cult to determine tlie geography of
the tribes of Arabia, as many of them
are migratory and unsettled. It would
seem that Bildad did not reside very
far from Eliphaz, for they made an
agreement to go and visit Job. ^.find
Zophar the jYaamathile. An inhab-
itant of Naamah, whose situation is
unknown. The LXX render this,
" Zophar, king of the Minaians — Mi-
va(u)v ^aotlavq. A place by the name
of Naamah is mentioned in Josh.
XV. 41, as in the limits of the tribe of
Judah. But this was u considerable
distance from the residence of Job,
and it is not probable that Zophar
was far from that region. Conjecture
is useless as to the place where he
lived. The Editor of the Pictorial
Bible, however, supposes that Zophar
was from the town in Judah men-
tioned in Josh. XV. 41. He observes
that this town is " mentioned in a list
of the uttermost cities of Judah's lot,
' towards the coast of Edom south-
xcard ;' it is farther among that por-
tion of those towns that lay ' in the
valley' (Josh. xv. 33), which valley
is the same that contained Joktheel
(Josh. XV. 38), which is supposed to
have been Petra. Naamah was pro-
bably, therefore, in or near the Ghor
or valley which extends from the
Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akaba.—
These considerations," he adds,
" seem to establish the conclusion
tjiat the scene of this book is laid in
the land of Edom." In the first part
of this verso, a remarkable addition
occurs in the Chaldee paraphrase. —

to come " to mourn with him,
and to comfort him.

a Ro. 12. 1.5.

It is as follows: "And the three
friends of Job heard of all the evil
which had come upon him, and when
they saw the trees of his gardens
(Chald. Paradise V'H'iQ^na) that they
were dried up, and the bread of his
support that it was turned into living

flesh {K^'^^\ "anntt -(inn^^rp cnb^

j<"in),and the wine of his drink turned
into blood (T|£firii V''"^^^'^'r '^^^l-^
^^^?)-" Here is evidently the doc-
trine o^transuhstantiatlon^ the change
of bread into flesh, and of wine into
blood, and bears the marks of hav-
ing been interpolated by some friend
of the Papacy. But when or by whom
it was done is unknown. It is a most
stupid forgery. The evident inten-
tion of it was to sustain the doctrine
of transubstantiation, by the plea that
it was found far back in the times of
Job, and that it could not be regarded,
therefore, as an absurdity. To what
extent it has ever been used by tho
advocates of that doctrine, I have no
means of ascertaining. Its interpo-
lation here is a pretty sure proof of
the conviction of the author of it that
the doctrine is not found in any fair
interpretation of the Bible. \iFor they
had made an appointment together,
They had agreed to go together, and
they evidently set out on the journey
together. The Chaldee — or some one
who has interpolated a passage in the
Chaldee — has introduced a circum-
stance in regard to the design of their
coming, which savors also of the Pa-
pacy. It is as follows : " They came
each one from his place, and for the
merit of this they iccre freed from the
place destined to them in Gehe7ina"
(Diin^3), a passage evidently intend-
ed to defend the doctrine of purga-
tory, by the authority of the ancient
CJialdee Paraphrase. ^ To come to
mourn with him, and to comfort him.
To show the appropriate sympathy of
friends in a time of peculiar calami-

36

JOB.

12 And when they lifted up
their eyes afar off, and knew
him not, they lifted up their
voice and wept ; and they rent

ty. 'I'licy Jid not come with an in-
tention to reproacli him, or to charge
him with being a liypocrite.

12 And u'heti they lifted up their
eijcs afar off. " Wiien they saw him
at tije distance at which they could
formerly recognize him without diffi-
culty, disease had so altered his ap-
pearance that at first sight they knew
him not." JYorjes. ^They lifted vp
their voice. This is a common ex-
pression in the Scriptures, to denote
grief. Gen. xxvii. 38, xxix. 11 . Judg.
ii.4. Ruth i. 9. 1 Sam. xxiv. 16, et
smpc al We learn to suppress the
expressions of grief. The ancients
gave vent to their sorrows aloud. —
They even hired persons to aid them
in their lamentations ; and it became
a professional business of women to
devote themselves to the office of
making an outcry on occasions of
mourning. The same thing prevails
in the East at present. Friends sit
around the grave of the dead, or go
there at different times, and give a
long and doleful shriek or howl, as
expressive of their grief. H And they
rent every one his mantle. See Notes
on ch. i. 20. ^[ And sprinkled dust
upon their heads toivards heaven.
Another expression of sorrow. Comp.
Lam. ii. 10. Neh. ix. 1. 1 Sam. iv. 12.
Josh. vii. 6. Ezek. xxvii. 30. The
indications of grief here referred to,
were such as were common in ancient
times. They resemble, in a remark-
able manner, the mode in which
Achilles gave utterance to his sor-
row, when informed of the death of
Patroclus. Iliad xviii. 21-27.

A Binlden liorror shot through all the chief,
And wiapp'il liis senses in the cloud of <rrief;
Cast on ihc ground, with furious hands he

prea<l
The scorching ashes oer his graceful head ,
His jmrple garments, and his golden hairs,
Those he deforms with dust, and these he
tears ;

every one his mantle, and sprin-
kled dust " upon their heads to-
ward heaven.

13 So they sat down' with

a Ne. 9. 1. La. 2. 10. b Ezr. 9. 3-5.

On the hard soil his groaning breast he threw.
And roll'd and grovcU'd as to eaiih he grew,
Pope.

Thus far the feelings of the three
friends were entirely kind, and all
that they did was expressive of sym-
pathy for the sufferer.

13. So they sat down with him upon
the ground. See Notes on ch. i. 20,
ii. 8. Comp. Ezra ix. 3: "I rent my
garment and my mantle, and plucked
off the hair of my head, and my beard,
and sat down astonished." II Seven
days and seven nights. Seven days
was the usual time of mourning among
the Orientals. Thus they made pub-
lic lamentation for Jacob seven days.
Gen. 1. 10. Thus, on the death of
Saul, they fasted seven days. 1 Sam.
xxxi. 13. So the author of the book
of Ecclesiasticu.'^ says, " Seven days
do men mourn for him that is dead."
Ch.xxii. 12. It cannot be supposed
that they remained in the same place
and posture for seven days and nights,
but that they mourned with him dur-
ing that time in the usual way. An
instance of grief remarkably similar
to this, continuing through a period of
six days, is ascribed by Euripides to
Orestes :

'Ei'TevO-n' dyuia ovrraxiiq vooco vootc
Th]no)v ^Ooforrjqy o da maoiV ev 6{fi-
Kfirai,. ' [voiq

Ey.rnv da dt] rod' ij/(a(), x. t. A.

" 'Tis hence Orestes, agonized with griefs
And sore disease, lies on his restless bed
Delirious. Now six morns have winged their

flight.
Since by his hands his parent massacred
Burnt on the pile in ex[Matory flames.
Stubljorn the while he keeps a rigid fast,
Nor bathes, nor dressesjbut beneath Ids robes
He skulks, and if he steals a pause from rage,
'Tis but to feel his weiglit of wo and weep."

IT And none spake a word to him.-
That is, on the subject of his grief.
They came to condole with him,
but they had now nothing to say.

GIMPTER 11

him upon the ground seven " days
and seven nights, and none

a Go. 50. 10.

37

riiey saw that his afHiction was much
groiaer than they had anticipated.
II /or theij smothat his grief icas very
great. Tijis is given as a reason wliy
they were silent. But how this pro-
duced silence, or why his great <^rief
was a cause of their silence, is not in-
timated. Perhaps one or all of the
tolJowing considerations may have
led to it. (1.) They were amazed at
the e.\tent of his sufferings. Amaze-
ment IS often expressed bv silence.
We look upon that which is out of the
usual course of events without beino-
able to express any thing. We are
"struck dumb" with wonder. (2.)
The effect of great calamity is often
to prevent utterance. Nothing is more
n,)tural or common than profound si-
lence when we go to the house of
mourning. " It is the lesser cares only |
that speak ; the greater ones find not
Ianeua<£e."

spake a word unto him : for they
saw that his grief was very great.

Curc-e leves loquuntur, irigentes stupent.
(3.) They might not have known
wliat to say. They had come to sym-
pathize with him, and to offer conso-
lation. But their anticipated topios
of consolation may have been seen to
be inappropriate. The calamity was
greater than they had before wit-
nessed. The loss of propertv and
children ; the deep humiliation of a
man who had been one of the most
distinguished of the land; the severity
of his bodily sufferings, and his
changed and haggard appearance, i
constituted so great a calamity, that |
the usual topics of conversation did
not meet the case. What they had to I
say, was the result of careful obser- |
vation on the usual course of events |
and it is by no means improbable that '
they had never before witnessed sor- j
rows so keen, and that they now saw
thattheir maxims would by no means j
lurnish consolation for such a case, j
(4.) They seem to have been very I
early thrown into doubt in regard to '
the real character of Job. They had '

regarded him as a pious man, and had
come to him under that impression
But his great afflictions seem soon to
have shaken their confidence in his
piety, and to have led them to ask
themselves whether so great a suf-
ferer could be the friend of God.
Their subsequent reasonings show
that it was with them a settled opin-
ion that the righteous would be pros-
pered, and that very great calamities
wereproof of great criminality in the
sight of God. It was not inconsistent
with this belief to suppose that the
righteous might be slightly afflicted,
but when they saw such sorrows, they
supposed they were altogether be-
yond what God could send upon his
friends; and with this doubt on their
minds, and this change in their views,
they knew not what to say. How'
could they con.sole him when it was
their settled belief that great suffer-
ings wereproof of great guilt.? They
could say nothing which would not
seem to be a departure from this, un-
less they assumed that he had been
a hypocrite, and should administer
reproof and rebuke for his sins. (5.)
In this state of things, to administer
rebuke would seem to be cruel. It
would aggravate the sorrows which
already were more than he could
bear. They did, therefore, what the
friends of the afiiicted are often com-
pelled to do in regard to specific suf-
ferings ; they kept silence. As they
could not comfort him, they would
not aggravate his grief All they could
have said would probably have been
unmeaning generalities which would
not meet his case, or would have been
sententious maxims which would im-
ply that he was a sinner and a hypo-
crite ; and they were therefore dumb,
until the bitter complaint of Job him-
self (ch. iii.) gave them an opportu-
nity to state the train of thought
which had passed through their
minds during this protracted silence.
Hoyv often do similar cases occur

JOB.

now — cases where consolation seems
almcst impossible, and where any
truths which might be urged, except
the most abstract and unmeaning gen-
eralities,would tend only to aggravate
the sorrows of the afflicted ! When
calamity comes upon a person as the
result of his sins ; when property is
taken away which has been gained
in an unlawful manner ; when a
friend dies, leaving no evidence that
he was prepared ; when it is impos-
sible to speak of that friend without
recalling the memory of his irreli-
gious, prayerless, or dissolute life,
how difficult is it to administer con-
solation ! How often is the Christian
friend constrained to close his lips in
silence, or utter only torturing gen-
eral truths that can give no consola-
tion, or refer to facts which will

tend only to open the wound in the
heart deeper ! To be silent at such
times is all that can be done ; or to
commend the sufterer in humble
prayer to God, an expedient which
seems not to have been resorted to
either by Job or his friends. It is
remarkable that Job is not represented
as calling upon God for support and
it is as remarkable that his friends
during these seven days of silent grief
did not commend the case of their
much afflicted friend to the Father of
mercies. Had Joh prayed, he might
have been kept from much of the im-
proper feeli'hg to which he gave vent
in the following chapter ; had they
prayed, they might have obtained
much more just views of the govern-
ment of God than they had hitherto

CHAPTER III.

ANALYSIS OP THE CHAPTER.

Job's Complaint.

This chapter introduces the argument of the poem, which continues to ch. xlii. 6. The pa-
thetic lamentation of Job, and his bittercomplaint, furnishes an occasion for the reply of Eliphaz
in ch. iv., and gives rise to the argument which follows. Thus far liis friends, overwhelmed
with astonishment and grief, had said nothing. They knew not what to say to comfort him,
and they felt that if they said any thing, and expressed the convictions of their own minds, it
could only give him pain. They were, therefore, silent. The lamentation and complaint of
Job, however, furnished them with an opportunity to express their convictions fully, and in the
following chapters they enter on the argument with great earnestness.

This chapter contains Job's complaint. At the end of seven days, when he saw no prospect
of relief from his sufferings, and when his friends did not utter one word of condolence, he un-
burdens his heart in the language of hitter lamentation and despair. J^'oyes, The compl,.:nt
comprises the following parts or subjects: —

He curses the day in which ho was born, using a great variety of strong, rash, and violent
language, to show the deep detestation with which he regarded it — wishing that that day had
perished, that night had rested on it, that it should not be numbered among the days of the year,
and that it should be an accursed day never to be mentioned but with some expression of
abhorrence, vs. 1 — 9.

He states the reason why he regarded it as accursed. It was because it did not prevent his
birth, and thus save him from sorrow and despair, ver, 10.

He asks with impatience, why he did not die as soon as he was born ? Why were any pains
taken to keep him alive.' Why was he reserved to endure these bitter sorrows .' vs. 11, 12.

He states with great beauty, what would have occurred if he had died as soon as he was born.
Then he would have been at rest. He would have slept as princes and kings do. lie would
have been as unconscious of suffering as infants are who are not born. He would have been in
that peaceful abode where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest j
vrhere the chains of slavery are broken, and the servant is as free as his master, vs. 13 — ^20.

He asks, in the language of bitter complaint, why life is given to a man in misery, who does

CHAPTER III.

39

not desire it, and who longs impatiently for death ? This implies a bitter complaint against God.
Before this nothing had escaped him reflecting on God ; but here, in the language of deep and
excited feeling, he allows himself to insinuate that God is unjust and unkind, vs. 20—23.

In the close of his complaint, he discloses the foci tliat he had greatly feured these sufferin'-'s
and that in the time of his prosperity ho had not felt tlrat he was secure. He had had an appre-
hension of a reverse of circumstances, and now the worst that he had dreaded hadcone, vs. 24-26

Tiiere is, undoubtedly, much in this complaint that is irreverent, impatient, and improper.
Yet I he author of the poem has contrived to secure our sympathy in favor of the sufferer by
the narrative which precedes. Had the hook commenced here, all would at once conclude lint
Jo!) know nothing of proper feelings of submission, and was wholly a stranger to true piety.
l!ui we hear this language v^hen by the prev.ous narrative we are disposed to pity the sufferer.
He has been suhjecied to trials of the severest nature, and has found no one to condole with
him, or to express a sentiment of kindness in his favor. Under this excess of suftering, and
wrought up to this heii;ht of feeling, we are more inclined to pity him than to censure hfiri for
liis oiiviously irreverent language. SSuch is the art of the poem that these complaints do not
strike us as coming from a bad man, but as being the effect of momentary impatience and pas-
sion. They are not expressions indicating settled character and principles, but they are the le-
sult of the circumstances in which he was placed. Tiiey are felt to be such as not to demon-
strate that he is a hypocrite, but such as to show.that while he was in the main " a man of
integrity, he was too confident of it ; a man oppressed with almost every imaginable evil, boiii
corporeal and mental, and hurried beyond the limits of virtue by the strong influence of pain
and affliction.'" Lowtli's Lectures on Hebrew ■poetry, xxxiv.

A FTER this opened Job his
■"^ month, and cursed his da v.

1. After this. Dr. Good renders
this, "at h;ngth." It means after the
long silence of liis friends, and after
he saw that tliero was no prospect of
rehef or of consolation. II OpcnedJoh
his mouth. The usual formula in
Hebrew to denote the commencement
of a speech. See Matt. v. 2. Schul-
tens contends that it means boldness
and vehemency of speech, Ttaootjofa.,
or an opening of the mouth tor the
purpose of accusing, expostulating, or
complaining ; or to begin to utter some
sententious, profound, or sublime
maxim ; and in support of this he ap-
peals to Ps. Ixxviii. 2, and Prov. viii.
6. There is probably, however, no-
thing more intended than to begin to
speak. It is in accordance wit'i Ori-
ental views, wliere an act of speaking
is regarded as a grave and important
matter, and is entered on with much
deliberation. Blackwell (Life of Ho-
mer, p. 43) remarks tliat the Turks,
Arabs, Hindoos, and the Orientals in
general, have little inclination to so-
ciety and to general conversation, that
tliey seldom speak, and that their
speeches are sententious and brief,
unless they are much excited. With
such men, to make a speech is a se-
rious matter, as is indicated by the
manner in whicb. their discourses are
commonly introduced . " I will open

2 And Job ' spake, and said,

1 avswered.

my mouth," or they " opened ihe
mouth," implying great deliberation
and gravity. TJiis phrase occurs ofteii
in Homer, Hesiod, Orpheus, and in
Virgil (Comp. ^n. vi. 75), as well as
in the Bible. SeeBurder, in Rosen-
muller's Morgenland, in loc. T[ jQnil
cursed his day. The word rendered

cifr^e here (?^l^'|'^)is different from that
used in ch. i. ll, ii. 9. It is the pro-
per word to denote to curse. The
Syriac adds, " the day in which he
was born." A similar expression oc-
curs in Klopstock's Messias, Ges. iii.

Wenn nun, aller Kinder beraubt, die verzwei-

folnde Mutter,
Wuthend demTag, an dem sie gebahr, unil

gcbohren ward, Huchet.
" When now of all her children robb'd, the
desperate n. other enraged curses the day in
which she bare, and was borne."

2 IT .9nd Job spake. Marg. as in
Hebrew, answered. The Hebrew
word here used ("^Jr;) to ansicer, is
often employed when one commences
a discourse, even {hough no question
had preceded. It is somewiiat in the
sense of replying to a subject, or of
speaking in a case where a question
might appropriately be a.^ktd. Isa.
xiv. 10 (Heb ), Zech. iii. 4, Dent.
xxyi.5(Heb.), xxvii. 14 (Heb.). The
word to ansvKr {dnny.oi'vofiat) is fre-
quently used in this way in tlie New

40

JOB.

3 Let ' the day perish wherein
I was born, and the night in

a c. la 18, <fcc. Je. 20. 14.

Testament. Matt. xvii. 4, 17, xxviii.
5. Mark ix. 5, x. 51, et al.

3. Let the day jjcrish. ' Perish the
day ! O tlxat there had never been
sucli a day I Let it be bJotted from
the memory of man !' There is
something singularly bold, sublime,
and 2cild in this exclamation. It is a
burst of feeling where there iiud been
long restraint, and where now it
breaks forth in the most vehement
and impassioned manner. The word
perish here ('^5^'^) expresses the opta-
tive^ and indicates strong desire. So
the LXX, Vi.To/o/To, may it perish^ or
be destroyed. Comp. ch. x. 18. " O
that I had given up the ghost." Dr.
Good says of this exclamation,
" There is nothing that I know of, in
ancient or modern poetry, equal to
the entire burst, whether in the wild-
ness and horror of t!ie imprecations,
or the terrible sublimity of its image-
ry." The boldest and most animated
of the Hebrew poets have imitated
it, and have expressed themselves in
almost the same language, in scenes
of distress. A remarkably similar
expression of feeling is made by Jer-
emiah.

Cursed be the day wherein I was born !

Let not the day wherein my miUher hare me
be blessed !

Cursed be the man wlio brought tidings to my
father, saying,

" A man child is born unto thee,"

Making him very glad.

Bo that man as tlie cities wliicli Jehovah over-
threw and repented not !

Yea, let him hear the outcry in tlie morning.

And tlie lamentation at noon day !

Cii. XX. 14-16.

The sense of this expression in Job is
plain. He wished ^there never had
been such a day, and then lie would
not have been born. It is impossible
to vindicate these expressions in Job
and Jeremiah, unless it be on the
supposition that it is highly wrought
poetic language, caused by sorrow so
acute that it could not be expressed
in prose. We are to remember, how-
ever, if this seems to us inconsistent

ivJiicJi it was said, There is a
man child conceived.

with the existence of true piety, that
Job had far less light than we have ,
that he lived at an early period of the
world, when the views of the divine
government were obscure, and thai
he was not sustained by the hope?
and promises which the Christian
possesses now. What light he had
was probably that of tradition, and of
the result of careful observation on
the course of events. His topics of
consolation must have been compara-
tively few. He had few or no pro-
mises to sustain him. He had not
had before him, as we have, the ex-
ample of the patient Redeemer. His
faith was not sustained by those
strong assurances which we have of
the perfect rectitude of tiie divine
government. Before we blame him
too severely, we must place ourselves
in imagination in his circumstances,
and ask what our piety would have
done under the trials which afflicted
hivi. Yet with all allowances, it is
not possible to vindicate this lan-
guage ; and while we cannot but ad-
mire its force and sublimity, and its
unequalled power and boldness in ex-
pressing strong passion, we at the
same time feel that there was a want
of proper submission and patience. —
It is the impassioned language of a
man who felt that he could bear no
more ; and there can be no doubt that
it gave to Satan the hope of his an-
ticip; ted triumph. T\ Jind the night
in w lich it was said. Dr. Good ren-
ders this, "And the night which
shouted !" Noyes, " And the night
which said." So Gesenius and Ko-
senmiiller, " Perish the night w^hich
said, a man child is conceived." Tho
Vulgate renders it, " The night in
which it was said ;" the LXX," That
night in which they said." The
Chaldee paraphrases the verse, " Pe-
rish the day in which I was born, and
the angel who presided over my con-
ception." Scott, quoted by Good,
translates it, "Tlio night which hailed

CHAPTER III.

41

4 Let that day be darkness ;
let not God regard it from above,

tlie new-born man." The language
tiiroughout tliis imprecation is that in
which the night is personified, and
addressed as if it were made glad by
llie birth of a son. So Schultens says,
" Inducitur enim JVox ilia quasi con-
scia viystcril, ct exultans ob spem pro-
lis viriiis." Such personifications of
day and night are common among the
Arabs. See Schultens. It is a repre-
sentation of day and night as "sym-
pathizing with the joys and sorrows
of nsankind, and is in the truest vein
of Oriental poetry." "il There is a man
child conceived. Heb. "1^5 — a man.
Comp. John xvi. 21. The word " con-
ceived " Dr. Good renders "brought
forth." So Herder translates it. The
LXX, ^ Jdni' aooF)' — /o, a male. 'J he
common tranalation expresses the
true sense of the original. The joy
at the birth of a male in Oriental coun-
tries is much greater than that at the
birth of a female. A remarkable in-
stance of an imprecation on the day
of one's birth is found in a Moham-
medan book of modern times, in
which the expressions are almost pre-
cisely the satne as in Job. " Malek i
er Nasser Daud, prince of some tribes |
in Palestine, from v/hich however he !
had been driven, after many adverse |
fortunes, died in a village near Da- !
niascus in the year 1258. When the
crusaders had desolated his country, i
he deplored its misfortunes and his j
own in a poem, from which Abulfe- \
da (Annals, p. 560) has quoted the
following passage : ' O that my mo-
ther had remained unmarried all the
days of her life ! That God had de-
termined no lord or consort for her !
O that when he had destined her to
an excellent, mild, and wise prince, |
she had been one of those whom he
had created barren ; that she might
never have known the happy intelli-
gence that she had borne a man or
woman ! Or that, when she had car-
ried me under her heart, I had lost -,
ray life at my birth ; and if I had been l

neither let the light shine upon
it.

born, and had seen the light, that,
when the congratulating people hast-
ened on their camels, I had been
gathered to my fathers.' " The Greeks
and the Romans had their unlucky
days (rjfieQai (XTTocpQoiSfq, dies infaus-
ti) ; that is, days which were un pro-
pitious, or in which they expected no
success in any enterprise or any en-
joyment. Tacitus (Annals, xiv. 12)
mentions that the Roman Senate, for
the purpose of flattering Nero, decreed
that the birth-day of Agrippina should
be regarded as an accursed day : ut
dies natalis i\grippina3 inter nefastos
esset. See RosenuiOller, Alt. u. neue
Morgenland, in loc. Expressions also
simiUir to tliose before us, occur in
Ovid, particularly in the following
passage, Epist. ad Ibin.

Natus es infcli.x (ita Dii voluorc), nee uila
Comnioda nascnnli Stella, levisve fuit.

Lux quoque natalis, ne quid nisi tristo videres,
Turpi?, et inductis nuhibus atra fuit.

Sedit in adverse nocturnus culmine bubo,
Funereoque graves cdidit ore sonos.

We have now similar days, which by
common superstition are regarded as
unlucky or inauspicious. The wish
of Job eeems to be, that the day of
his birth might be regarded as one of
those days.

4. Let that day be darkness. Let
it not be day ; or, O, that it had not
been day, that the sun had not risen,
and that it had been night. H Let
not God regard it from above. The
word rendered here " regard" (^"'^'7)
means properly to seek or inquire af-
ter, to ask for or demand. Dr. Good
renders it here, " Let not God inclose
it," but this meaning is not found in
the Hebrew. Noyes renders it lite-
rally, "Let not God seek it." Her-
der," "Let not God inquire after it."
The sense may be, either that Job
wished the day sunk beneatii the ho-
rizon, or in the deep waters by which
he conceived the earth to be sur-
rounded, and prays that God would
not seek it and bring it from its dark

42

JOB.

5 Let darkness and the sha-
dow of death stain ' it ; let a

1 or. challenge.

abode ; or he desired that God would
never inquire after it, that it might
pass from his remembrance and be
forgotten. What we value, we would
wish God to remember and bless ;
what we dislike, we would wish him
to forget. This seems to be the
idea here. Job hated that day, and
he wished all other beings to forget
it. He wished it blotted out, so that
even God would never inquire after
it, but regard it as if it had never been.
*[[ jYcither let the light shine upon it.
Let it be utter darkness ; let not a ray
ever reveal it. It will be seen here
that Job first curses the day. The
amplification of the curse with which
he commenced in the first part ofver.
third, continues through the fourth
and fifth verses ; and then he returns
to the night., v/hich also (in the latter
part ofver. 3) he wished to be cursed.
His desires in regard to that unliappy
night, he expresses in vs. 6-10.

5. Let darkness and the shadow of
death. The Hebrew word ^i^'^Vj
tzdbndveth is exceedingly musical
and poetical. It is derived from ?^
tzel, a shadow, and ^)^ ma,veth,
death ; and is used to denote the
deepest darkness. See Notes on Isa.
ix. 2. It occurs frequently in the sa-
cred Scriptures. C'omp. Job X 21,22
Ps. xxiii. 4. Job xii. 22, xvi. 16, xxiv.
17, xxxiv. 22, xxviii. 17. Amos v. 8,
Jer. ii. 6. It is used to denote the abode
of departed spirits, described by Job as
*' a land of darkness, as darkness it-
self; of the shadow of death v.ithout
any order, and where the light is as
darkness." Job. x. 21,22. The idea
seems to have been, that death was a
dark and gloomy object that obstruct-
ed all light, and threw a baleful shade
afar, and that that melancholy shade
was thrown afar over the regions of
the dead. The sense here is, that
Job wished the deepest conceivable
darkness to lest upon it. H Stain it.

cloud dwell upon it ; '^ let the
blackness of the day terrify it.

2 or, let them terrify it, as those who have a
bitter day. Am. 8. ]6.

Marg. or challenge. Vulg. obscure it.
LXX, "take or occupy it," ^Exld^ai.
Dr. Good, crush it. Noyes, redeem it.
Herder, seize it. This variety of in-
terpretation has arisen in part from
the twofold signification of the word
here used, ?5<^. The word means
either to redeem., or to defile., -pollute.,
stain. These senses are not very
closely connected, and I know not
how the one has grown out of the
other, unless it be that redemption
was accomplished with blood, and
that the frequent sprinkling of blood
on an altar rendered it defiled, or un-
clean. In one sense, blood thus sprin-
kled would purify, when it took away
sin ; in another, it would render an
object unclean or polluted. Gesenius
says, that the latter signification oc-
curs only in the later Hebrew. If the
word here means to redeem., the sense
is, that Job wislied darkness to resume
its dominion over the day, and redeem
it to itself, and thus wholly to ex-
clude the light If the word means
to defile or pollute, the sense is, that
he desired the death-shade to stain
the day wholly black ; to take out
every ray of light, and to render it
wholly obscure. Gesenius renders it
in the former sense. The sense
which Reiske and Dr. Goodgive to the
word, " crush it," is not found in the
Hebrew. The word means to de-
file, stain, or pollute, in the following
places, viz.: it is rendered ;;o//wfc and
polluted in Mai. i. 7, 12. Zeph. iii. 1.
Lam. iv. 14. Ezraii. 62. Neh. vii. 64;
defile or defiled in Isa. lix. 3. Dan. i.
8. Neh. xiii. 29 ; and stain in Isa.
Ixiii. 3. It seems to me that this is
the sense here, and that the meaning
has been well explained by Schul-
tens, that Job wished that his birth-
day should be involved in a deep
stain, that it should be covered with
clouds and storms, and made dark and
dismal. Tiiis imprecation referred
not only to the day on which he

CHAPTER III.

43

was bom, but to' each succeeding
birth-day. Instead of its being on its
return a bright and cheerful day, he
wished that it might be annually a
day of tempests and of terrors ; a day
so marked that it would excite atten-
tion as peculiarly gloomy and inau-
spicious. It was a day whose return
conveyed no pleasure to his soul, and
which he wished no one to observe
with gratitude or joy. TI Let a cloud
dwell upon it. There is, as Dr. Good
and others have remarked, much sub-
limity jn this expression. The He-
brew word rendered a cloud (p'^^^}
occurs nowhere else in this form. It
is the feminine form of the word
■ji^, a cloudy and is used collectively to
denote clouds ; that is, cloud piled on
cloud ; clouds " condensed, impacted,
heaped together " (Dr. Good), and
hence the gathered tempest, the
clouds assembled deep and dark, and
ready to burst forth in the fury of a
storm. Theodotion renders it aw-
VBwfa, assembled clouds ; and hence
darkness. The LXX render it yvocpoq,
tempest^ or thick darkness. So Je-
rome, caligo. The word rendered
'* dwell upon it '" (l^^^), means pro-
perly to settle down., and there to
abide or dwell. Perliaps the original
notion was that of fixing a tent, and
so Schuitens renders it. Tentorium fi-
gat super eo Xubes.^ " Let the cloud
pitch its tent over it;" rendered by
Dr. Good, *' The gathered tempest
pavilion over it !" " This is an im-
age," says Schuitens, " common
among the Arabs." The sense is,
that Job wished clouds piled on
clouds to settle down on the day per-
manently, to make that day their
abode, and to involve it in deep and
eternal night. II Let the blackness of
the day terrify it. Marg. " Or, Lei
them terrify it as those who have a
hitter day.^' There has been great
variety in the interpretation of this
passage. Dr. Good renders it, " The
blasts of noontide terrify it." Noyes,
"Let whatever darkens the day terrify
ti." Herder," The blackness of mis-
fortune terrify it." Jerome, Et

involvatur amaritudine, ' let it be
involved in bitterness.' The LXX,
yaTaoa&fCtj tj fjfi/Qci^ ' let the
day be cursed.' This variety has
arisen from the difficulty of determin-
ing the sense of the Hebrew word
used here and rendered " blackness,"
a»i>-|i*n^3 If it is supposed to be de*
rived from the word *l^3 kdmdr, to
be warm, to be hot, to burn, then it
would mean the deadly heats of the
day, the dry and sultry blasts which
prevail so much in sandy deserts. —
Some writers suppose that there is a
reference here to the poisonous wind
Samuni or Samiel, which sweeps
over those deserts, and which is so
much dreaded in the heat of summer.
*' Men as well as animals are often
suffocated with this wind. For during
a great heat, a current of air often
comes which is still hotter ; and when
men and animals are so exhausted
that they almost faint away with the
heat, it seems that this little addition
quite deprives them of breath. —
When a man is suffocated with this
wind, or when, as they say, his heart
is burst, blood is said to flow from his
nose and ears two hours after his
death. The body is said to remain
long warm, to swell, to turn blue and
green, and if the arm or leg is taken
hold of to raise it up, the limb is said
to come off." Burder's Oriental cus-
toms, No. 176. From the testimony
of recent travellers, however, it would
seem that the injurious effects of this
wind have been greatly exaggerated.
If this interpretation be the true one,
then Job wished the day of his birth
to be frightful and alarming, as when
such a poisonous blast should sweep
along all day, and render it a day of
terror and dread. But this interpre-
tation does not well suit the parallel-
ism. Others, therefore, understand
by the word, obscurations., or what-
ever darkens the day. Such is the
interpretation of Gesenius, Bochart,
Noyes, and some others. According
to this, the reference is to eclipses or
fearful storms which cover the day in
darkness. The noun heie is not found

44

JOB.

6 As for that night, let dark- j joined unto the days of the year ,
ness seize upon it ; let it not be ' let it not come into the number

1 or, rejoice amoji^

elsewhere ; but the vr.rb C^^^) is used
in the sense of being black and dark
in Lam. v. 10 : " Our skin \vas black
like an oven, because of the terrible
famine;" or perhaps more literally,
" Our skin is scorched as v/ith a fur-
nace, from the burning heat of fam-
ine." That which is burnt becomes
black, and hence the word may mean
that which is dark, obscure, and
gloomy. Tliis meaning suits the
parallelism, and is a sense which tho
Hebrew will bear. Another inter-
pretation regards the 2 kaph as a
prefix before the word d"l""l73 blttcr-
wiss, and then the sense is, "accord-
ing to the bitterness of the day ;" that
is, the greatest calamities which can
happen to a day. This sense iS found
in several of the ancient versions, and
is adopted by RosenmuUer. To me
it seems that the second interpreta-
tion proposed best suits the connec-
tion, and tbat the meaning is, that Job
wished that every thing which could
render the day gloomy and obscure
might rest upon li. The Chaldee adds
here, "Let it be as the bitterness of
day — the grief with which Jeremiah
was afflicted in being cut off from the
house of the Sanctuary, and Jonah in
being cast into the sea of Tarshish."
6. As for tliat night. Job, having
cursed the dmj^ proceeds to utter a
malediction on the night also. See
ver. 3. This malediction extends to
ver. 10. IT Let darJcncss seize upon it.
Heb. Let it take it. Let deep and
horrid darkness seize it as its own.
Let no star arise upon it ; let it be un-
broken and uninterrupted gloom.
The word darlnicss, however, does
not quite express the force of the
original. The word here used (^'^)<)
is poetic, and denotes darkness more
intense than is denoted by the word
which is usually rendered darkness
("n^H). It is a darkness accompanied
with clouds and with a tempest. lier-

of the months.

der understands it as meaning, thai
darkness should seize upon that ni^-^ht
and bear it away, so that it should not
be joined to the months of the year.
So the Chaldee. But the true sense
is, that Job wished so deep darkness
to possess it, that no star would rise
up(ni it ; no light whatever be seen
A night like this Seneca beautifully
describes in Agamemnon, vs. 661, scq.

Nox prima copluin sparscrat stelii>!

Cum snbito Inna conditur, stelize caclunt;

In astra pontiis tollitur, et coclum petit.

JVec una nox est, densa tenebras obruit

Caligo, et omni luce subducta, fretuni

Ccplumque niiscet. . . ,

Premunt tenebras lumina, et dirjc stjgis

Inferna nox est.
^ Let it not he joined unto the days
of the year. Marg. rejoice among.
So Good and Noyes render it. The
word used here C^n"?), according to
the present pointing, is the apocopated
future of J^'^rj, to rejoice., to he glad.
If the pointing were different (^H!!)
it would be the future of 'iri^, to be
one ; to be united, or joined to. The
Masoretic points are indeed of no ab-
solute authority, but the interpretation
which supposes the word to mean
exult or rejoice, is moie poetical and
beautiful. It is then a representation
of the days of the year as rejoicing
together, and a wish is expressed that
that night might never be allowed to
partake of the general joy while the
months rolled around. In this inter-
pretation Rosenmiiller and Gesenius
concur. Dodvvell supposes that there
is an allusion to a custom among tho
ancients, by which inauspicious days
were stricken from the calendar, and
their place supplied by intcrcalarv
days. But there is no evidence of
the existence of such a custom in the
time of Job. % Let it not come, d:c.
Let it never be reckoned among the
days which go to make up the num-
ber of the months. Let there be al-
w\ays a t»lank there : let its place al-
ways be wanting.

CHAPTER III.

45

7 Lo, let that night be soli-
tary ; let no joyful voice come
therein.

7. Lo, let that night he solitary.
Dr. Good, " O ! that night ! Let it
be a barren rock !" Noyes, " O let
that night be unfruitful !" Herder,
" Let that night be set apart by
itself" The Hebrew word used

here (n^^?S) means properly hard;
then sterile, barren, as of a hard and
rocky soil. It does not mean pro-
perly solitary, but that which is un-
productiv^e and unfruitful. It is used
of a woman who is barren, Isa.
xlix. 21, and also of that which is
lean, famished, emaciated with
hunger. Job. xv. 34, xxx. 3. Ac-
cording to this it means that that
should be a night in which none
would be born — a night of loneliness
and desolation. According to Jerome,
it means t!iat the night should be
solitary, lonely, and gloomy ; a night
in which no one would venture forth
to make a journey, and in which
none would come together to rejoice.
Thus interpreted, the night would
resemble that which is so beautifully
described by Virgil, ^En. vi. 263 :

Ibantot)3curi sola sub nocte per umbras,
Perque domos Ditis vacuas et inania rejna.

It is probable, however, that the
fcn-mer is the correct interpretation.
IT Let no joyful voice come therein.
Let there be no sound of praise and
rejoicing. Tiie Chaldee paraphrases
this, " Let not the crowing of a
cock be heard in it." The sense of
the whole is, that Job wished that
night to be wholly desolate. He
wished there might be no assem-
bling for amusement, congratulation,
or praise ; no marriage festivals, and
no rejoicing at the birth of children ;
he would have it as noiseless, soli-
tary, and sad, as if all animals and
men were dead, and no voice were
heard. It was a night hateful to
him, and he would have it in no
way remembered.
. 8. Let them curse it who curse the

8 Let them curse it that
curse the day, who " are ready to
raise up ^ their mourning.

a Je. 9. 17, 20. 1 or, a leviathan.

day. This entire verse is exceed-
ingly difficult, and many different
expositions have been given of it. It
seems evident that it refers to some
well-known class of persons, who
were accustomed to utter impreca-
tions, and were supposed to have
the power to render a day propitious
or unpropitious — persons who had the
power of divination or cnchautuicnt.
A belief in such a power existed
early in the world, and has prevailed
in all savage and semi-barbarous na-
tions, and oven in nations considera-
bly advanced in civilization. The
origin of this was a desire to look
into futurity ; and in order to accom-
plish this, a league was supposed to
be made with the spirits of the dead,
who were acquainted with the events
of the invisible world, and who could
be prevailed on to impart their know-
ledge ^o favored mortals. It was
supposed, also, that by such union
there might be a power exerted which
v/ould appear to be miraculous.
Such persons also claimed to be the
favorites of heaven, and to be en-
dowed with control over the ele-
ments, and over the destiny of men ;
to have the power to bless and to
curse, to render propitious or cala-
mitous. Balaam was believed to
be endowed with this power, and
hence he was sent for by Balak, king
of Moab, to curse the Israelites.
Num. xxii. 5, 6. See Notes on Isa.
viii. 19. The practice of cursing the
day, or cursing the sun, is said by
Herodotus to have prevailed among
a people of Africa, whom he rails
the Atlantes, living in the vicinity of
Mount Atlas. " Of all mankind,"
says he, " of whom we have any
knowledge, the Atlantes alone have
no distinction of names; the body of
the people are termed Atlantes, but
their individuals have no appropriate
appellation. When the sun is at the

46

JOB.

9 Let the stars of the twilight
thereof be dark : let it look for

);ighest they heap on it reproaches
and execrations, because their country
and themselves are parched by its
rays." Book iv. 184. The same ac-
count of them is found in Pliny, Nat.
His. V. 8 : Solem orientem occiden-
temque dira imprecatione contuentur.
ut exitialem ipsis agrisque. See also
Strabo, Lib. xvii. p. 780. Some have
supposed, also, that there may be an
allusion here to a custom whicJi seems
early to have prevailed of hiring peo-
ple to mourn for the dead, and who
•irobably in their official lamentation
bewailed or cursed the day of their
calamity. Comp. Jer. ix. 17. 2
Chron. xxxv. 2.5. But the correct
interpretation is doubtless that which
refers it to pretended prophets,
priests, or diviners — who were sup-
posed to have power to render a day
one of ill omen. Such a power Job
wished exerted over that unhappy
night when he was born. He desired
that the curses of those who had
power to render a day unpropitious
or unlucky, should rest upon it.
^ Ji'lio are ready to raise up their
raourning. This is not very intelli-
gible, and it is evident that our trans-
lators were embarrassed by the pas-
sage. They seem to have supposed
that there was an allusion here to
the practice of employing profes-
sional mourners, and that the idea is,
that Job wished that they might be
employed to howl over the day as in-
auspicious, or as a day of ill omen.
The margin is, as in the Heb.,
a leviathan. The word rendered
ready (p'^y^r'J)^ means properly
ready, prepared ; and then practised
or skilful. This is the idea here, that
they were practised or skilful in call-
ing up the leviathan. See Schultens
in loc. The word rendered in the
text mourning., and in the margin
leviathan ('s^'^'f^)., in all other parts
of the sacred Scriptures denotes an
animal. See it explained in the

light, but have none ; neither lei
it see the dawning of the day ,

1 eyelids of the morning.

Notes on Isa. xxvii. 1, and more fullv
in the Notes on Job xli. It usually
denotes the crocodile, or some huge
sea monster. Here it is evidently used
to represent the most fierce, power-
ful and frightful of all the animals
known, and the allusion is to some
power claimed by necromancers to
call forth the most terrific monsters
at their will from distant places, from
the " vasty deep," from morasses
and impenetrable forests. The gene-
ral claim was, that they had control
over all nature ; that they could
curse the day, and make it of ill
omen, and that the most mighty and
terrible of land or sea monsters were
entirely under their control. If they
had such a power. Job wished that
they would exercise it to curse the
night in which he was born. On
what pretensions they founded this
claim is unknown. The power,
however, of taming serpents, is prac-
tised in India at this day ; and jug-
glers bear around with them the
most deadly of the serpent race,
having extracted their fangs, and
creating among the credulous the be-
lief that they have control over the
most noxious animals. Probably
some such art was claimed by the
ancients, and to some such pretension
Job alludes here.

y. Let the stars of the ticilight
thereof he dark. That is, be extin-
guished, so that it shall be total dark-
ness— darkness not even relieved by
a single star. The word here ren-
dered twilight (^\^.T) means properly
a breathing; and hence the evening,
when cooling breezes hlcw^ or gently
breathe. It is used however to denote
both the morning and the evening twi-
light, though here probably it means
the latter. He wishes that the evening
of that night, instead of being in any
way illuminated, should set in with
total darkness and continue so. The
LXX render it, night. T[ Lei it look

CHAPTER IIL

et

10 Because it shut not up the
doors of my mother's womb, nor
hid sorrow from mine eyes.

11 Why died I not from the
womb? why did I not give up

for lights hut have none. Personify-
ing the night, and representing it as
looking out anxiously for some ray
of light. This is a heautiful poetic
image — the image of JW^j-A^, dark and
gloomy and sad, anxiously looking
out for a single beam or a star to break
in upon its darkness and diminish its
gloom. IT JYeithei- let it see the daion-
ing of the day. Margin, more lite-
rally and more beautifully, eye] ids of
the morning. Tlie word rendered
*' dawning " (^'^S^fil^) means prop-
erly the eyelashes (from h^2' to fy),
and it is given to them from their fly-
ing or fluttering. The word rendered
" day " ("^f!!^*) means the aurora, the
morning. The sun when he is above
the horizon is called by the poets the
eye of day ; and hence his earliest
beams, before he is risen, are called
the eyelids or eyelashes of the
morning opening upon the world.
This figure is common in the ancient
classics, and occurs frequently in the
Arabic poets. See Schultens m loc.
Thus in Soph. Antiq. 104, the phrase
occurs, 'yififQaq [iXftpaqov. So in
Milton's Lycidas,

" Ere the Iiigh lawns appeared

Under the opening eyelids of the dawn,
We drive afield."
Job's wish was, that there might be no
star in the evening twilight, and that
no ray might illuminate that of the
morning; that it might be enveloped
in perpetual, unbroken darkness.

10. Because it shut not up., &c.
That is, because the accursed day and
night did not do it. Aben Ezra sup-
poses that God is meant here, and
that the complaint of Job is that he
did not close his mother's womb.
But the more natural interpretation
is to refer it to the Nvx&-r]fi^Qov — the
night and the day which he had been
cursing, on which he was born.

the ghost when I came out of
the belly ?

12 Why did the knees " pre-
vent me ? or why the breasts that
I should suck ?

a Is. 66. 12.

Throughout the description the day
and the night are personified, and are
spoken of as active in introducing
him into the world. He here curses
them because they did not wholly
prevent his birth. U Nor hid sorrow
from mine eyes. By preventing my
being born. The meaning is, that he
would not have known sorrow if he
had then died.

1 1 . Whifdic d Inot from the womb ?
Why did I not die as soon as I was
born ? Why were any pains taken
to keep me alive.'' TJie suggestion
of this question leads Job in the fol-
lowing verses into the beautiful de-
scription of what he would have been
if he had then died. He complains,
therefore, that any pains were taken
by his friends to keep him alive, and
that he was not suffered peacefully
to expire. IT Give up the ghost. A
phrase that is often used in the Eng-
lish version of the Bible to denote
death. Gen. xlix. 33. Job xi. 20, xiv.
10. Jer. XV. 9. Matt, xxvii. 50. Acts
V. 10. It conveys an idea, however,
which is not necessarily in the origi-
nal, though the idea in itself is not
incorrect. The idea conveyed by
the phrase is that of yielding up the
spirit or soul^ while the sense of the
original here and elsewhere is simply
to expire, to die.

12. Why did the knees prevent me ?
That is, the lap of the nurse or of
the mother, probably the latter The
sense is, that if he had not been deli-
cately and tenderly nursed, he would
have died at once. He came he.plcss
into the world, and but for the atten-
tion of others he would have soon
died. Jahn supposes (Archre. § 161)
that it was a common custom for the
father, on the birth of a son, to clasp
the new-born child to his bosom,
while music was heard to sound, and

48

JOB.

13 For now should I have
lain still and been quiet, I should

by this ceremony to declare it as his
own. That there was some such
recognition of a child or expression
of paternal regard, is apparent from
Gen. 1. 23. Probably, however,
the whole sense of the passage is ex-
pressed by the tender care which is
necessarily shown to the new-born
infant to preserve it alive. The word
rendered "prevent" here (^'!!|^),
means properly to anticipate, to go
before, as the English word j^i'^f^cnt
formerly did ; and hence it means to
go to meet any one in order to aid
him in any way. There is much
beauty in the word here. It refers to
the provision which God has made
in the tender affection of the parent
to anticipate the wants of the child.
The arrangement has been made
beforehand. God has taken care
when the feeble and helpless infant
is born, that tender affection has
been already created and prepared to
meet it. It has not to be created
then ; it is not to be excited by the
suffering of the child ; it is already
in existence as an active, powerful,
and self-denying principle, to antici-
pate the wants of the new-born babe,
and to save it from death.

13. For now should I have Iain still.
In this verse Job uses fow expres-
sions to describe the state in which
he would have been if he had been
so happy as to have died when an
infant. It is evidently a very pleas-
ant subject to him, and he puts it in
a great variety of form. He uses the
words which express the most quiet
repose, a state of perfect rest, a gentle
slumber; andtlienin the next verses
he says, that instead of being in the
miserable condition in which he then
was, he would have been in the same
state with kings and the most illus-
trious men of the earth. TT / should
have lain still— "^t^^^^. I should
have been lyifig doicn^ as one does
who is taking grateful repose. This
is a word of less strength than any of

have slept: then had I been ai
rest.

those which follow. IT jind been
quiet — I3lp\!jl<. A word of stronger
signification than that before used.
It means to rest, to lie down, to have
quiet. It is used of one who is never
troubled, harassed, or infested by
others. Judges iii. 11, v. 31, viii, 28,
and of one who has no fear or dread,
Ps. Ixxvi. 9. The meaning is, that
he would not only have lain down,
but would have been perfectly tran-
quil. Nothing would have harassed
him, nothing would have given him
any annoyance. IT / should have
slept — '^ri?^'!]'. This expression also
is in advance of those before used.
There would not only have been
quiet., but there would have been a
calm and gentle slumber. Sleep is
often represented as " the kinsman of
death." Thus Virgil speaks of it:

" Turn consanguine us Leti sopor — "

^n. vi. 278.
So Homer :

EvO-^ vTtro) ^Vf(p).t]to -/.aaiyrriro) &a-
rdroio —

Iliad, xiv. 231

This comparison is an obvious one,
and is frequently used in the classic
writers. It is employed to denote
the calmness, stillness, and quiet of
death. In the Scriptures it frequently
occurs, and with a significancy far
more beautiful. It is there employed
not only to denote the tranquillity of
death, but also to denote the Christian
hopes of a resurrection and the pros-
pect of being awakened out of the
long sleep. We lie down to rest at
night with the hope of awaking
again. We sleep calmly, with the
expectation that it will be only a
temporary repose, and that we shall
be aroused, invigorated for augmented
toil, and refreshed for sweeter pleas-
ure. So the Christian lies down in
the grave. So the infant is com-
mitted to the calm slumber of the
tomb. It may be a sleep stretching
on tljrough many nights and weeks
and years and centuries, and even

14 With kings and counsellors
of the earth, which buiJt deso-

CHAPTER III.

late

cycles of ages but it is not eternal.

behold he beauties of creation ; the
ear will be unstopped to hear the
sweet voice of friendship and the
harmony of music ; and the frame
VMll be raised up beautiful and im-
morta to engage in the service of the
God that made us. Com p. Ps. xiii
r 3,xc. 5. John xi. 11. ICor. xv 51

}Jl'T- '"'' ^A' ''■ ^^- Whether J^i
used the word m this sense and with
this understanding, has been made a
matter of question, and will be con-
sidered more fully in the examination
of the passage in ch. xix. 25-27.
1 Thai had I been at rest. Instead of
the troubles and anxieties which I
now experience. That is, he would
have been lying in calm and honora-
bJe repose with the kings and princes
of the earth. '

A ^'^■Jp:i^'.^'^^S^^- Roposingasthey
t^'^: •'" '' '^'^ ^""Sunge of calm
meditation on what would have been
the consequence if he had died when
he was an infant. He seems to de-
light to dwell on it. He contrasts it
with his present situation. He pauses
on the thought that that would have
been an honorable repose. He would
have been numbered with kings and
princes. Is there not here a little
spice of ambition even in his sorrows
and humiliation ? Job had been an
eminently rich man ; a man greatlv
honored; an emir; a magistrate:
one m whose presence even princes
refrained talking, and before whom
nobles held their peace, ch. xxix 9
Now he was stripped of his honors,
and made to sit in ashes. But had he
died vv'.ien an infant, he would have
been numbered with kings and coun-
sellors and would have shared their
.ot. Death is repulsive; but Job
takes comfort in the thought that he
would have been associated with the
most exalted and honorable amon^
men There is some consolation in
the idea that when an infant dies he
IS associated with the most honored

49

places for. themselves;

a c. 15. 28.

and ^^alted^;fth;7^;;77^— — -

solation in the reflection that w lie „'

we die wo shall lie down with he

goodandte great of all past It
and that though our bodies shal

-oulder back to dust, and be forgo,
en, we are sharing the same lot with
the most beautiful, lovely, wis.
pious and mighty of the rice. To
Chris lans there is the richest of all
consokations in the thought that they
will sleep as their Saviour did in the

omb and that the grave, naturally.!
repulsive, has been made sacred Ld
even attractive by being the place
where the Redeemer reposed ^
Why should wc tremble to convey
Their bodies to the tomb ^

And left a long perfume.

The graves of all his .saints he blessed,
„.^n'> softened every bed • '

B,^rJm ".!'' the dying members rest
tiul with the dying Head '

JT M counsellors of the earth.
^reat and wise men who were quali-
hed to give counsel to kings in times
of emergency. H Which built deso-
late places for themselves Gese-
nuis supposes that the word here
used (r.Tn-in) ^eans palaces which
would soon be in ruins. So Noves
renders it, " Who build up for them-
'^^'««-r"i"s •'" That is, ihey build
splendid palaces, or perliaps tombs,
which are destined soon to fall to
ruin. Dr. Good renders it, " Who
restored to themselves the ruined
wastes;" that is, the princes who re-
stored to their former magnificence
the rums of ancient cities, and built
their palaces in them. But it seems
to me that the idea is difl^erent. It is
that kings constructed for their own
burial, magnificent tombs or mauso-
eums, which were lonely and deso-
late places, where they might lie in
still and solemn grandeur. Comp.
JNotes on ]sa. xiv. 18. Sometimes
these were immense excavations from
rocks; and sometimes they wero
stupendous structures built as tombs.

5G

JOB.

What more desolate and lonely places
could be conceived than the Pyramids
of Egypt — reared probably as the
burial-places of kings ? What more
lonely and solitary than the small
room in the centre of one of those
immense structures, where the body
of the monarch is supposed to have
been deposited ? And what more
emphatic than the expression —
though " so nearly pleonastic that it
may be omitted" (JVoijes) — "for them-
selves" ? To my view, that is far
from being pleonastic. It is full of
emphasis. The immense structure
was made for them. It was not to be
a common burial-place ; it was not
for the public good ; it was not to be
an abode for the living and a contri-
buter to their happiness : it was a
matter of supreme selfishness and
pride — an immense structure built
only FOR THEMSELVES. With such
persons lying in their places of lonely
grandeur. Job felt it would be an
honor to be associated. Compared

with his present condition it was one
of dignity ; and he earnestly wished
that it might have been his lot thus
early to have been consigned to the
fellowship of the dead. It may be
some confirmation of this view to re-
mark, that the land of Edom, near
which Job is supposed to have lived,
contains at this day some of the most
wonderful sepulchral monuments of
the world. Comp. Notes on Isa.
xvi. 1. The following cuts, taken
from Laborde, will give an illustra-
tion of those tombs. It is true that
those sepulchres are of a much later
date than tiie time of Job, nor could
the art of sculpture in his time have
been such as these specimens exhibit ;
but it is interesting to find such illus-
trations of the general idea in the
very region where Job lived. The
following cut is the facade of a tomb
in Pelra, in Idumea, and will illus-
trate the magnificence which wag
sometimes shown in their structure.

CHAPTER III.

61

CHAPTER III. S3

I''pi"f°™S cut will illustrate the interior of such tombs. I, i, also

from Petra.

CHAPTER III.

55

The annexed cut shows the entrances to several of those tombs exca
vated in the side of the rocks. Such sepulchres abound in Persia and on
the banks of the Nile in Egypt opposite to Thebes.

CHAPTER III.

57

15 Or with princes that had
gold, who filled their houses with
silver :

1(> Or as an hidden untimely

fl Ps. 58. 8.

1 wearied in slrenirtk.

15. Oi' zcith princes that had gold.
That is, he would have been united
witli tiie rich and tlie great. Is there
not here too also a slight evidence
of the fondness for wealth, which
might have been one of the errors of
tliis good man ? Would it not seem
that such was his estimate of the inj-
portunce of being esteemed rich, that
he would count it an honor to be
united with the alHuent in death,
rather than be subjected to a condition
of poverty and want among the
living.'' IT IVho filled their houses
V'ith silver. Rosenmiiller supposes
that there is reference here to the
custom among the ancients of burying
treasures with the dead, and that the
word houses refers to the tombs or
mausoleums which they erected.
That such a custom prevailed, there
can be no doubt. Josephus informs
us that large quantities of treasure
were buried in the tomb with David,
which afterwards was taken out for
the supply of an army; and Schultens
(in loc.) says that the custom pre-
\ailed extensively among the Arabs.
The custom of burying valuable ob-
jects witli the dead was practised
also anu)ng the aborigines of this
country, and is to this day practised in
Africa. If this be the sense here,
tlien the idea of Job was, that he
would have been in his grave united
with those who even there were ac-
companied with wealth, rather than
sufrering the loss of all his property
as he was among the living.

IG. Or as an hidden untimely birth.
As an abortion which is hid, or con-
cealed ; that is, which is soon re-
moved from the sight. iSo the
Psalmirit, Iviii. 8 :

Ae a snail wliich meltetli, lot tliem dissolve ;
As the untimely birth of a woman, that they
n'.ay not see tlio sun.

Sept. ?;;roftj/fa, the same word wliich

birth " I had not been ; as infants
ivMch never saw light.

17 There the wicked cense
frojii troubling ; and there the
^ weary be at rest.

is used by Paul in 1 Cor. xv. 8, with
reference to himself See Notes on
tj;at place. IF / liad not been. I should
have perished; I should not have
been a man, as I m)W am, subject to
calamity. The meaning is, that he

j would have been taken away and
concealed, as such an untimely birth
is, and that he would never have
been numbered among the living and
the sufiering. II As infants which
never saw lioht. Job expresses here
no opinion of their future condition,
or on the question whether such in-
fants had immortal souls. He is
simply saying that his lot would
have been as theirs was, and that he
would have been saved from the sor-
rows which he now experienced.

17. There the wiched cease from
troubling. In the grave — where
kings and princes and infants lie.
This verse is often applied to heaven,
and the language is such as will ex-
press the condition of that blessed
world. But as used by Job it had
no such reference. It relates only
to the grave. It is language which
beautifully exjiresses the condition of
the dead, and the desirableness even
of an abode in the tomb. They who
are there, are free from the vexations
and annoyances to which men are
exposed in this life. The wicked
cannot torture their limbs by the fires

j of persecution, or wound their feel-
ings by slander, or oj)press and ha-
rass them in regard to their property,
or distress them by thwarting their
plans, or injure them by impugning
their motives. All is peaceful anu
calm in the grave, and thei-e is a
place where the malicious designs oi
wicked men cannot reach us. The
object of this verse and the two fol-
lowing is, to show the reasons why it
was desirable to be in the grave,
rather than to live and to sufter the ills

68

JOB.

18 There the prisoners rest
together ; they hear not the

of this life. We are not to suppose that .
Job referred exclusively to his own \
case in all this, lie is describing, in
general, the happy condition of the
dead, and we have no reason to think
that he had been particularly annoyed
by wicked men. But tiio pious often
are; and hence it should be a matter
ofgratitudc that there is one place, at
least, where the wicked cannot annoy
the good ; and where the persecuted,
the oppressed, and the slandered may
lie down in peace. If ^ind there the
%ceary be at rest. Marg. Wearied in
strength. The margin is in accord-
ance with the Hebrew. The mean-
ing is, those whose strength is ex-
hausted ; who are worn down by
the toils and cares of life, and who
feel the need of rest. Never was
more beautiful language employed
than occurs in this verse. AV'hat u
charm such language throws even
over the grave — like strewing flow-
ers, and planting roses around the
tomb ! Who should fear to die, if
])repared, when such is to be the con-
dition of the dead .' Who is there
that is not in some way troubled by
the wicked — by their thoughtless,
ungodly life ; by persecution, con-
tempt, and slander ? Comp. 2 Peter'
ii. 8. Ps. xxxix. 1. Who is there that
is not at some time weary with his
load of care, anxiety, and trouble.
Who is there whose strength does
not become exhausted, and to whom
rest is not grateful and refreshing ?
And who is there, therefore, to
whom, if prepared for heaven, the
grave would not be a place of calm
and grateful rest ? And though true
religion will not prompt us to wish
that we had lain down there in early
childhood, as Job wished, yet no dic-
tate of piety is violated when we
look forward with calm delight to the
time when loe may repose where the
wicked cease from troubling, and
where the weary be at rest. O grave,
thou art a peaceful spot ! Thy rest is
calm: thy slumbers are sweet.

voice of the oppressor.

19 Tlie suKill and great are

Nor pain, nor grief, nor anxious fear
Invade tliy Ijounils. No mortal woos
Can reach llic peaceful sleeper hero,
Wliilc angels watch the soft icposc.

8o Je.sus slept ; God's dying Son

I'asscd ihiougli the grave, and blest the bed.

18. There the prisoners rest to-
gether. Herder translates this,
" There the prisoners rejoice in their
freedom." The LXX, strangely
enough, " There they of old (ot
ato'jnoi) assembled together (ofio&v
ftador) have not heard the voice of
the exactor." The Hebrew word
■jJ^^ means to rest, to be quiet, to be
tranquil : and the sense is, that they
arc in the grave freed from chains
and oppressions. If They hear not the
voice of tlie oppressor. Of him who
exacted taxes, and who laid on them
heavy burdens, and who imprisoned
them for imaginary crimes. He who
is botmd in chains, and who has no
other prospect of release, can look for
it in the grave and will find it there.
Similar sentiments are found respect-
ing death in Seneca nd Marciain, 20 :
" JMors omnibus finis, multis remedi-
um, quibusdam votum ; hajc servitu-
tem invito domino remittit ; hfficcap-
tivorum catenas levat; haec a carcere
reducit, quos exire imperiuin impo-
tens vetuerat; hiee exulibus, in pa-
triam semper animum oculosque ten-
dentibus, ostendit, niliil interesse
inter quos quisque jaceat ; Iijec, ubi
res communes fortuna male divisit, et
jpquo jure genitos alium alii donavit,
excRquat omnia; hsec est, quai niliil
quidquam alieno fecit arbitrio ; lia^c
est, ea qua nemo humilitatem suam
sensit ; haec est, qua? nulli paruit."
The sense in Job is, that all arc at
liberty in death. Chains no longer
bind ; prisons no longer incarcerate .
the voice of oppression no longer
alarms.

19. The small und the great are
there. The old and the }oung, the
liigh and the low. Death lovehj all.
Jt shows no respect to nge ; ii spares
none because they are vigorous

CHAPTER m.

59

there; and the servant is free
from his mastei.

20 Wherefore is light given
to him that is in misery, and life

young, or beautiful. This sentiment
has probably been expressed in vari-
ous forms in all languages, for all men
are made deeply sensible of its truth.
The classic reader will recall the
ancient proverb,

Mor? sceptra ligonibus requat ,

and the language of Horace

iEqua lege Necessitas
Sortitur insignes et imos.

Omne capax movet urna nomen.
Tristis unda scilicet omnibus,
Q,uicunque terrse munere vescimur,

Enaviganda, sive reges,
Sive inopos erimus coloni.
Divesne prisco natus ablnacho
Nil interest, an pauper et infima

De gente sub dio moreris
Victima nil miserantis Orci.
Omnes eodem cogimur. Omnium
Versatur unia. Serius, ocyus,

Sors exitura.
— Omnes una manet nox,
Et calcanda semel via leti. [Nullum

Mista senum ac juvenum densantur funera.

Saeva caput Proserpina fugit. [bernas

Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum ta-

Regumque turres.

^ ^nd the servant is free from his
master. Slavery is at an end in the
grave. The master can no longer
tax the powers of the slave, can no
longer scourge him or exact his
uncompensated toil. Slavery early-
existed, and there is evidence here
that it was known in the time of Job.
But Job did not regard it as a desira-
ble institution ; for assuredly that is
not desirable from which death would
be regarded as a release, or where
death would be preferable. Men
often ta.k about slavery as a valuable
condition of society, and sometimes
appeal even to the Scriptures to sus-
tain it ; but Job felt that ittnas xcorsc
than death, and that the grave was to
be preferred because there the slave
would be free from his master. The
word here used and rendered " free "
(*'\13BH) properly expresses manumis-

unto the bitter in soul ;

21 Which 1 long " for death,
but it Cometh not ; and dig for it
more than for hid treasures ;

1 wait. a Re. 9. 6.

sion from slavery. See it explained
at length in my Notes on Isa.
Iviii. 6.

20. Wherefore is licrht given to him
that is in misery. The word light
here is used undoubtedly to denote
life. This verse commences a new
part of Job's complaint. It is that
God keeps men alive who would pre-
fer to die ; that he furnishes them
with the means of sustaining exist-
ence, and actually preserves them,
when they would consider it an ines-
timable blessing to expire. Schultens
remarks, on this part of the chapter,
that the tone of Job's complaint is
considerably modified. He has given
vent to his strong feelings, and the
language here is more mild and gen-
tle. Still it implies a reflection on
God. It is not the language of hum-
ble submission. It contains an im-
plied charge of cruelty and injustice ;
and it laid the foundation for some
of the just reproofs which follow.
TT And life unto the litter in soul.
Who are suffering bitter grief. We
use the word hitter yet to denote great
grief and pain.

21. Which long for death. Whose
pain and anguish are so great that they
would regard it as a privilege to die.
Much as men dread death, and much
as they have occasion to dread what
is beyond, yet there is no doubt tiiat
this often occurs. Pain becomes so
intense, and suffering is so protracted,
that they would regard it as a privi-
lege to be permitted to die. Yet that
sorrow must be intense which
prompts to this wish, and usually must
be long continued. In ordinary cases,
such is the love of life, and such
the dread of death and of what is
beyond, that men are willing to bear
all that human nature can endure
rather than meet death. See Notes

J on eh. ii. 4. This idea has been

60

JOB.

22 Whicli rejoice exceeding-
ly, and are glad when they can
find the grave 1

expressed with unsurpassed beauty
by Shakspeare :

Fof w'no would bear the whips and scorns of

time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's con-
tumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and tlie spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy take?,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin ? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life.
But that the dread of something after death —
The undiscovered country, from wliose bourne
No traveller returns— puzzles the will;
And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of.

Hamlet.
^ And dig for it. That is, express a
stronger desire for it than men do who
dig for treasures in the earth. Nothing
would more forcibl^^ express the in-
tense desire to die than this expression.

22. Which rejoice exceedingly . Heb.
"Who rejoice upon joy or exuha-
tion " (l3'^^""'b5>) that is, with exceed-
ingly great joy. TT When they cayijind
the grave. Wliat an expression !
How strikingly does it express the
intense desire to die, and the depth of
a man's sorrow, when it becomes a
matter of exultation for him to be
permitted to lie down in the corrup-
tion and decay of the tomb ! A some-
what similar sentiment occurs in Eu-
ripides, as quoted by Cicero, Tusc.
Qua'st. Lib. 1, cap. 48:

Nam nos decebat, domum
Liigore, ubi esset aliquis in lucem editus,
flumanse vitae varia rcputantes mala ;
At, qui laho-es morte finissot graves,
Ilunc om.ni amicos laude et laetitia exsequi.

23. Why is light given to a man
whose loayis hid ? That is, who does
not know what way to take, and who
sees no escape from the misery that
surrounds him. "IT Whom God hath
hedged in. See Notes, ch. i. 10. The
meaning here is, that God had sur-
rounded him as with a high wall or
hedge, so that he could not move
freely. Job asks with impatience,
why light, i. e. life, should be ffiven

23 JVliy is light given to a
man whose way is hid, and whom
God hath hedged " in ?

a c. 19. 8. La. 3. 7.

to such a man ? Why should he not
be permitted to die.' This closes the
complaint of Job, and the remaining
verses of the chapter contain a state-
ment of his sorrowful condition, and
of the fact that he had now been
called to suffer all that he had ever
apprehended. — In regard to the ques-
tions here proposed by Job (vs
20-23), we may remark, that there
was doubtless much impatience on
his part, and not a little improper
feeling. The language shows that
Job was not absolutely sinless; but
let us not harshly blame him. T'""' .it
he says, is a statement of feelings
which often pass through the mind, •
though they are not often expressed.
Who, in deep and protracted sorrows,
has not found such questions rising
up in his soul — questions which
required all his energ)^, and all his
firmness of principle, and all the
strength which he could gain by
prayer, to suppress .' To the questions
themselves, it may be difficult to give
an answer ; and it is certain that none
of the friends of Job furnished a solu-
tion of the difficulty. When it is asked,
vv'hy a man is kept in misery on earth,
when he would be glad to be released
by death, perhaps the following,
among others, may be the reasons :
(1.) Those sufferings may be the very
means which are needful to develop
the true state of the soul. Such was
the case witli Job. (2 ) They may be
the proper punishment of sin in tlie
heart, of which the individual was
not fully aware, but which may he
distinctly seen by God. There may
be pride, and the love of ease, and
self-confidence, and ambition, and a
desire of reputation. Sucli appear to
have been some of the besetting sins
of Job. (3.) They are needful to
teach true submission, and to show
whether a man is willing to resign
himself to God. (4.) They may be
the very things which are necessary

CHAPTER III.

61

24 For my sighing cometh
before ' I eat, and my roarings
are poured out like the waters.

1 viyvuat,

to prepare the individual to die. At
the same time that men often desire
death, and feel that it would be a
relief, it might be to tliem the great-
est possible ealaniity. They may be
wholly unprepared for it. For a sin-
ner, the grave contains no rest; the
eternal world furnishes no repose.
One design of God in such sorrows
may be, to show to the wicked how
intolerable will be future j)ain, and
how important it is for them to be
ready to die. If they cannot bear the
pains and sorrows of a few hours in
this short life, how can they endure
eternal suflerings .'' If it is so desira-
ble to be released from the sorrows
of the body here, — if it is felt that the
grave, with all that is repulsive in it,
would be a place of repose, how im-
portant is it to find some way to be
secured from everlasting pains ! The
ti-ue place of release from suffering
for a sinner, is not the grave ; it is in
the pardoning mercy of God, and in
that pure heaven to which he is
invited through the blood of the
cross.' In that holy heaven is the
only real repose from suffering and
from sin ; and heaven will be all the
sweeter in proportion to the extrem-
ity of [laia w^hicii is endured on earth.
24. For 'Mij sighhtg cometlt before I
eat. Marg. My meat. Dr. Good ren-
ders this, " Behold ! my sighing
takes the place of my daily food,"
and refers to Ps. xlii. 3, as an illus-
tration :

My tears aie my meat day and niglit.
Ho substanti.aily Schullens renders it,
and explain.^ .'.t as meaning, " My
sighing come? in the manner of my
ibod," Suspiriv.m od modurri panis
veniens — and nupposes it to mean
that his sighs and groans were like
his daily food ; or were constant and
unceasing. Dr Noyes explains it as
meaning, " My sighing comes on
when I begin to eat, and prevents my
0

25 For ~ the thing which I
greatly feared is come upon me,
and that which I was afraid of

2 I feared a fear, and it came upon me,

taking my daily nourishment ;" and
appeals to a similar expression in
Juvenal. Sat. xiii. 211 :
Perpetua anxietas,necmensaG tempore cessat.
RosenmfUler gives substantially the
same explanation, and remarks, also,
that some suppose that the njouth,
hands, and tongue of Job were so
affected with disease, that the effort
to eat increased his sufferings, and
brought on a renewal of liis sorrows.
The same view is given by Origen ;
and this is probably the correct sense.
IT .Rnd my roarings. My deep and
heavy groans. H Jlre poured out like
theuHiters. That is, (1.) inmimber —
they were like rolling billows, or
like the heaving deep. (2) Perhaps
also in sound like them. His groans
were like the troubled ocean, that
can be lieard afar. Perhaps, also, (3.)
he means to say that his groans were
attended with " a flood of tears," or
that his tears were like the waves of
the sea. There is some hyperbole in
the figure, in whichever way it is un-
derstood ; but we are to remember
that his feelings were deeply excited,
and that the Orientals were in the
habit of expressing themselves in a
mode, which to us, of more phleg-
matic temperament, may seem extra-
vagant in tiie extreme. We have,
however, a similar expression when
we say of one that " he burst into a
fiood of tears.''

25. For the tiling tc kick I greatly
feared. Marg. As in the Hebrew,
" I feared a fear, and it came upon
me." This verse, with the follow-
ing, has received a considerable
variety of exposition. Many have
understood it as referring to his
whole course of life, and suppose
that Job meant to say that he was al-
ways apprehensive of some great ca-
lamity, such as that which had now
comeupon him, and that in the timo
I of his highest prosperity lie had lived

JOB.

is come unto me.

26 I was not in safety, neither

in continual alarm lest his property
should be taken away, and lest he
should be reduced to penury and suf-
fering. This is the opinion of
Drusius and Codurcus. In reply to
this, Schultens has remarked, that
such a supposition is contrary to all
probability ; that there was no reason
to apprehend that such calamities as
he now suffered, would come upon
him ; tliat they were so unusual that
they could not have been anticipated ;
and that, therefore, the alarm here
spoken of, could not refer to the ge-
neral tenor of his life. That scenes
to have been happy and calm, and
perhaps, if any thing, too tranquil
and secure. Most interpreters sup-
pose that it refers to the state in wiiich
he was during his trial, and that it is
designed to describe the rapid suc-
cession of his woes. Such is the in-
terpretation of Rosenmuller, Schul-
tens, Drs. Good, Noyes, Gill, and
others. According to this, it means
that his calamities came on him in
quick succession. He had no time
after one calamity to become com-
posed before another came. When
he heard of one misfortune, he natu-
rally dreaded another, and they came
on with overwhelming rapidity. If
this be the correct interpretation, it
means that the source of his lamenta-
tion is not merely the greatness of
his losses and his trials considered in
the aggregate^ but the extraordinary
rapidity with which they succeeded
each other, thus rendering them much
more difficult to be borne. Scech.i.
He apprehended calamity, and it
came suddenly. When one part of
his property was taken, he had deep
apprehensions respecting the rest ;
when all his property was seized or
destroyed, he had alarm about his
children ; when the report came that
they were dead, he feared some other
affliction still. The sentiment is in
accordance with human nature, lliat
when we are visited with severe cala-
mity in one form, we naturally dread

had I rest, neither was I quiet;
yet trouble came.

it in another. The mind becomes
exquisitely sensitive. The affections
cluster around the objects of attach-
ment which are left, and they become
dear to us. When one child is taken
away, our affections cling more
closely to the one which survives,
and any little illness alarms us, and
the value of one object of affection
is more and more increased — like the
Sybil's leaves — as another is re-
moved. It is an instinct of our nature,
too, to apprehend calamity in quick
succession when one comes. " Misfor-
tunes seldom come alone j" and
when we suffer the loss of one en-
deared object, we instinctively feel
that there may be a succession of
blows that will remove all our com-
forts from us. Such seems to have
been the apprehension of Job.

26. / was not in safety. That is,
I have, or I had no peace. '^J^l']^^
Sept. oiTf fiiirinvoa — I had no-peace
The sense is, that his mind had been
disturbed with fearful alarms ; or
perhaps that at that time he was filled
with dread. U Kcither had I rest.
Trouble comes upon me in every
form, and I am a stranger wholly to
peace. The accumulation of phrases
here, all meaning nearly the same
thing, is descriptive of a state of great
agitation of mind. Such an accu-
mulation is not uncommon in the
Bible to denote any thing which lan-
guage can scarcely describe. So in
Isa. viii 22 :

And they shall look upward ;

And to the earth shall they look ;

And lol trouble and darkness,

Gloom, oppression, and deepened darkness.

So Job X. 21,22:

To the lind of darkness and the death-shade,
The land of darkness like the hlackness of the

death-shade,
Where is no order, and where the light is as

darkness.
Til US in the Hamasa (quoted by Dr.
Good), " Death, and devastation,
and a remorseless disease, and a still
heavier and more terrific family of
evils." The Chaldee has made a

CHAPTER III.

63

reinaruiable addition here, arising
from the general design in the author
of that Paraphrase, to expLiin every
thing. "Did I not dissemble when
the annunciation was made to me re-
specting the oxen and the asses ?
Was I not stupid [unalarmed, or un-
moved, r''21"Hl3]^ when the report
came about the conflagration? Was
I not quiet, when the report came re-
specting the camels ? And did not
indignation come, when the report
was made respecting my sons ?" TF
Yet trouble came. Or rather, ' and
trouble comes.' Tliis is one of the
cumulative expressions to denote the
rapidity and tlie intensity of his sor-
rows. Tiie word rendered trouble
i'^^^) means properly trembling,
commotion, disquiet. Here it signi-
fies such misery as made him tremble.
Once the word means wrath (Hab.
iii.2) ; and it is so understood here
by tJje LXX, who render it onyi'].

In regard to this chapter, contain-
ing the first speech of Job, we may
remark, that it is impossible to ap-
prove the spirit whicli it exliibits, or
to believe that it was acceptable to
God. It laid the foundation for the
reflections — many of them exceed-
ingly just — in the following chapters,
and led his friends to doubt whether
such a man could be truly pious.
The spirit which is manifested in
this chapter, is undoubtedly far from
(hat calm submission which religion
should have produced, and from that
which Job had before evinced. That
he was, in the main, a man of emi-
nent holiness and patience, the whole
book demonstrates ; but tliis chapter
is one of the conclusive proofs that
he was not absolutely free from im-
perfection. From the chapter we
may learn, (1.) That even eminently
jood men sometimes give utterance
;o sentiments which are a departure
Tom the spirit of religion, and which
hey will have occasion to regret.
Such w^as the case here. There was
I language of complaint, and a bitter-
less of expiession, which religion
jannot sanction, and which no pious

man, on reflection, would approve.
(2.) We see the effect of heavy
aflliction on the mind. It sometimes
becomes overwhelming. It is so
great that all the ordinyy barriers
against impatience are swept away.
The sufferer is left to utter lan-
guage of murmuring, and there is the
impatient wish that life was closed,
or that he had not existed. (3.) Wn
are not to infer that because a man in
affliction makes use of some expres-
sions which we cannot approve, and
which are not sanctioned by the
word of God, that therefore he is not
a good man. There may be true
piety, yet it may be far from perfec-
tion ; there may be in general sub-
mission to God, yet the calamity may
be so overwhelming as to overcome
the usual restraints on our corrupt
and fallen nature : and when we re-
member how feeble is our nature at
best, and how imperfect is the piety of
the holiest of men, we should not
harshly judge him who is left to ex-
press impatience in his trials, or who
gives utterance to sentiments differ-
ent from those which are sanctioned
by the word of God. There h;ts
been but one model of pure submis-
sion on earth — the Lord Jesus Christ ;
and after the contemplation of the
best of men in their trials, we can
see that there is imperfection i7i them,
and that if we would survey absolute
perfection in suffering, w^e must go to
Gethsemane and to Calvary. (4.)
Let us not make the expressions
used by Job in this chapter our
model in suffering. Let us not sup-
pose that because he used such laii-
guage, that therefore we may also.
Let us not infer that because they
are found in the Bible., that therefore
they are right; or that because he
was an unusually holy man, that it
would be proper for us to use the
same language that he did. The fact
tJiat this book is a part of the in-
spired truth of revelation, does not
make such language right. All that
inspiration does, in such a case, is
to secure an exact record of what
was actually said ; it does not, of ne-

64

JOB.

cessity, sanction it any inore than an
accurate historian can be supposed
to approve all that he records. There
may be important reasons why it
should be preserved, but he who
makes the record is not answerable
for the truth or propriety of what is
recorded. The narrative is true : the
sentiment may be false. The histo-
rian may state exactly what was said
or done : but what was said or done,
may have violated every law of truth
and justice; and unless the historian
expresses some sentiment of appro-
bation, he can in no sense be held
answerable for it. So with the nar-

ratives in the Bible. Wliere a senti-
ment of approbation or disapproba-
tion is expressed, there the sacred
writer is answerable for it ; in other
cases he is answerable only for the
correctness of the record. This view
of the nature of inspiration will
leave us at liberty freely to canvass
the speeches made in the booJi of
Job, and make it more important
that we compare the sentiments in
those speeches with other parts of the
Bible, that we may know what to
approve, and what was erroneous in
Job or his friends.

CHAPTEPv IV.

ANALYSIS OF CHAPTERS IV. AND V.

The first Speech of Eliphaz.

The fourth and fifth chapters comprise the speech of Eli[,haz in reply to the intemperate
language of Job. Hitherto his friends had maintained a profound silence in regard to his
aflitctions — amazed hy tlie magnitude of liis sorrows, and unwilling to break in upon his grief,
and perhaps pondering the question whether one who sutfered so mucli could he a good man.
See Notes on ch. ii. 13. The bitter complaint of Job, however ; his rash and intemperate lan-
guage ; his implied (barges against God, seem to have settled the question in the minds of his
fiiends that he could not be a good man-and they proceed to addiess him in accordance with
this belief. Eliphaz— as in the whole series of arguments — opens the discussion. He is the
most mild of Job's accusers; yet; though his accusations are conducted with great art, and
with a studious regard to urbanity of manner, they are terribly severe. It is not improbable that
he w.TS the oldest of the friends of Job, as great respect was shown to the aged in those times,
and they were expected to speak first. See ch. xxxii. 6. I'he speech of Eliphaz consists
mainly of the statement of his own observations, that the rigliteous are prospered, and the
wicked punished, in this world ; and in solemn advice to Job to return to God, and commit his
cause to him. There is not a direct chai'gc of hypocrisy, but it is implied throughout the argu-
ment, and the discussion which it brings on leads to this direct ch.argo in some of the subse-
quent speeches. The argument, which is one of groat beamy and power, consists of the fol-
lowing parts :

1. After duly apologizing for speaking at all, he proceeds to point out the incoiisistenc}' of a
gooil man's repining under calamity, and the absurdity of his complaining and murmuring, who
had so often e.yhortcd others to fortitude. This, to him, is strange and unaccountable, and ine-
vitably leads to the question, whether Job could be a good man, ch, iv. 1— (>,

2. He then advances the sentiment t!;at no one ever perished who was innocent, and that the
rigliteous were not cut oif, ch. iv. 7—11. He states, as the result of his own observation, tJiat
they that plow wickedness and sow inicjuity, reap the same. They are destroyed by the blast of
God, and consimied by the breath of his noslrils. Tliis sentiment he illustrates by his obser-
vation of the ways in which the fierce lion is destroyed ; or, perhaps, using the word lion to de-
note savage and cruel men, he shows how they are cut off, cli. iv. 7—11. This is the main doc-
trine which he and his fiiends defend. It is, that misery implies guilt ; tliat great caiamitits
are a proof of hypocrisy or sin ; and thus it is insinuated that the wickedness of Job is the
cause of his present afflictions.

3 Tills position Eliphaz proceeds to defend, not only hy his own observation, but hy a
remarkable revelation which he says he had formerly liad on thi.s very subject, ch. iv. 12—21.
That vision was in the silence of the night. A spirit, whose form he could not discern, was

CHAPTER IV.

65

before him, which proclaimed, in a deep and golemn voice, that man could not be more just than
God; that even the angels were charged with folly; that men were deeply guilty before him,
and ihat lie crushed and destroyed them on account of their transgressions

4. In confirmation of his views, Eliphaz appeals to the observation of the saints, and again
urges his own experience on the sul)ject, eh. v. 1-5. He says that he, himself, had seen the
wicked flourishing, but soon he had occiision to observe tluit they were overwhelmed with
cal-'aiiity. 'I'heir children were crushed with sudden death, and thcit harvest was consumed or
laid waste by the robber. Tiiough they seemed to be prosperous, yet he maintained that this
was no exce])ti m to his general remark that God would punish the wicked in this world, and
thiit calamity was proof of guilt.

5 In regard to atHiction in general, he maintains that it is not the woik of chance. It docs
not, .'■ays he, spring fiora the ground. It is appointed and diiected by an intelligent Being; and,
therefore, Ik; infers it must bo designed to punish the wicked, ch. v. 6, 7

C. In view of the doctrine which he had now advanced, Eliphaz advises Job to commit his
cause to God, ch. V. 8— 16. lie says that he would himself do it; and proceeds to show that
sul)mission to Go 1 was a duty; that God was great, and did wonderful things ; that his Provi-
dence was over all events : tliat he took the wise in their own craftiness but that he was the
protector and defender of him who trusted in him.

7. Tlie argument of Elijihaz concludes with a statement of the happy consequences which
would follow from. making God his friend, ch. v. 17—27. If there was sincere piety, there
would be great benefit in trials. God would siif)port and comfort him ; he would deliver him in
trouble, and would keep him alive in famine ; he would make even the stone.- of the field and
the beasts tributary to his happiness; his family would be pre-^eived an., prospered, and ho
would come to the grave in peace and honor. Eliphaz says that he had seen instances like this,
and commends that course to Job— strongly implying throughout that he showed in his trials that
he had not the true spirit of-ieligion.

^PIIEN Eliphaz the Temanite
answered and said,
2 If' we assay ' to commune

1 a loord.

1. Then Eliphaz the Temanite an-
swered. See Notes, ch. ii. 11.

2. If ice assay to commune with
thee. Marg. A word. Heb— f^&2^^
^^'^. ' May we attempt a word loith
thee?'- This is a gentle and polite
apology at the beginning of his
speech — an inquiry whether he would
t;ike it as unkind if one sliould adven-
ture on a remark in the way of argu-
ment. Jahn, in characterizing tlio
part which Job's three friends respec-
tively take in the controversy, says :
" Eliphaz is superior to the others in
jiscernment and delicacy. He begins
by addressing Job mildly; and it is
not until irritated by opposition that
he reckons him among the wicked."
^1 JVilt thou he grieved ? That is,
Wilt thou take it ill.' Will it be
offensive to you, or weary you, or
tire your patience .' The word used
here (i^^^) means to labor, to strive,
to weary, to exhaust; and hence, to
be weary, to try one's patience, to
take any thing ill. Here it is the

witli thee, wilt thou be grieved?
but who can ' withhold himself
from speaking?

9 refrain from words.

language of courtesy, and is designed
to introduce the subsequetit remarks
in the kindest manner. Eliphaz knew
that he was about to make observa-
tions which might implicate Job, and
he introduced tliem in as kind a man-
ner as possible. There is nothing
abrupt or harsh in his beginning. All
is courteous in the higliest degree,
and is a model for debaters. H But
icho can withhold himself froin speak-
ing ? Marg. Refrain from icords.
That is, ' the subject is so important,
the sentiments advanced by Job are
so extraordinary, and the principles
involved are so momentous, that it is
impossible to refrain.' There is much
delicacy in this. He did not begin
to speak merely to make a speech.
He professes that he would not have
spoken, if he had not been pressed by
the importance of the subject, and iiad
not been full of matter. To a great
extent, this is a good rule to adopt:
not to make a speech unless there arc
sentiments which weigh upon the
mind, and convictions of duty whicli
cannot be repressed.

m

J013.

3 Behold, thou hast instructed
many, and thou hast strength-
ened " he weak hands.

4 Thy words have upholden

a Is, 35. 3.

3 Behold, thou hast instructed
many. That i?, thou hast instructed
many how they ought to bear trials,
and hast delivered important maxims
to them on the great subject of the
divine government. This is not
designed to be irony, or to wound the
feelings of Job. It is intended to
recall to his mind the lessons which
he had inculcated on others in times
of calamity, and to show him how
important it was now that he should
reduce his own lessons to practice,
and sliow their power in sustaining
himself II Thou hast strengthened
the iceak hands. That is, thou hast
aided the feeble. The hands are tiie
instruments by which we accomplish
any thing, and when they are weak,
it is an indication of helplessness.

4. Thy tcords have upholden him
that was falling . That is, either fall-
ing into sin, or sinking under calam-
ity and trial. The Hebrew will bear
either interpretation, but the con-
nection seems to require us to under-
stand it of one who was sinking under
the weight of aflliction. U The feeble
knees. Marg. hoicing. The knees
support the frame. If they fail, we
are feeble and helpless. Hence,
their being weak, is so often used in
the Bible to denote imbecility. The
sense is, that Job, in the days of his
own prosperity, had exhorted others
to submit to God ; had counselled
them in such a manner as actually to
give them support, and that the same
views should now have sustained
him which he had so successfully
employed in comforting others.

5. But now it is come upon thee.
That is, calamity ; or, the same trial
which others have had, and in which
thou hast so successfully exhorted
and comforted them. A similar sen-
timent to that which is here ex})rcss-
ed, is found in Terence :

him that was falling ; and thou
hast strengthened the ' feeble
knees.

5 But now it is come upon

1 boicino: He. 12. 12.

Facile oninps/'cuin valemus, recta concilia
segrotis diinus. And. i. 9.

M it toucheth thee. That is, affliction
has come to yourself. It is no longer
a thing about which you can coolly
sit down and reason, and on which
you can deliver formal exhortations.
*\\ And thou art troubled. Instead of
evincing the calm submission which
you have exhorted others to do, your
mind is now disturbed and restless.
You vent your complaints against the
day of your birth, and you charge
God with injustice. A sentiment
resembling this, occurs in Terence,
as quoted by Codurcus :

Nonne id flagitiuni est, te allis consilium dare,
Foris sapere, tibi non posse te auxiliaiier?

Something similar to this not unfre-
quentiy occurs. It is an easy thing
to give counsel to others, and to
exhort them to be submissive in trial.
It is easy to utter general maxims,
and to suggest passages of Scripture
on the subject of affliction, and even
to impart consolation to others ; but
when trial comes to ourselves, we
often fail to realize the power of
those truths to console us. Ministers
of the gospel are called officially to
impart such consolations, and are
enabled to do it. But when the trial
comes on them, and when they ought
by every solemn consideration to be
able to show the power of those
truths in their own case, it sometimes
happens that they evince the same
impatience and want of submission
which they had rebuked in others ;
and that whatever truth and power
there may have been in their instruc-
tions, they themselves little felt their
force. It is often necessary that he
who is appointed to comfort the
afflicted, should be afflicted himself.
Then he can " weep with those who
weep ;" and hence it is that ministers
of the gospel arc called quite as much

CHAPTER IV.

67

tliee, and thou faintest; it

toucheth
troubled.

thee, and thou art

as any other class of men to pass
through deep waters. Hence, too,
the Lord Jesus became so preeminent
in sutlering, tliat he might be touclied
with the feelings of our infirmity, and
be qualified to sympathize with us
when we are tried. Hcb. ii. 14, 17,
18, iv. 15, 16. It is exceedingly im-
portant that when they whose office
it is to comfort others arc afilicted,
tliey should exhibit an example of
patience and submission. Then is
tiie time to try their religion ; and
then they have an opportunity to
convince others that the doctrines
which they preach are adapted to
the condition of weak and suffering
man.

6. Is not this thy fear, thy confi-
dence ? There has been considerable
vjiriety in the interpretation of this
verse. Dr. Good renders it,

Is tliy piety then notliing? thy hope
Thy confidence ? or the uprightness of thy
ways I

Noyes renders it,

Is not thy fear of God thy hope,
And the uprightness of thy ways thy confi-
dence ?

RosenmQller translates it,

Is not ill thy piety and integrity of life
Thy confidence and hope ?

In the Vulgate it is translated,
'Where is thy fear, thy fortitude,
thy patience, and the integrity of thy
ways .'"' In the Sept., ' Is not thy
fear founded on folly, and thy hope,
and the evil of thy way .^'
Casteilio translates it,

Niniirum tantum rcligionis, quantum c.vpecta-

tioni.s ;
Quantum spei, tantum habebas intcgritatis

morum ;

and the idea according to his version
is, that he had as nmch religion as
was prompted by the hope of reward ;
that his piety and integrity were sus-
tained only by his hope, and were
not the result of principle ; and tliat
of course his religion was purely self-

6 Is not ilds thy fear, thy
confidence, the uprightness of
thy ways, and thy hope ?

ish. If this be the sense, it is designed
to be a reproach, and accords with the
charge in the question of Satan (ch.
i 9), ' Doth Job fear God for naught V
Rosenmijller adopts the opinion of
Ludovicus de Dieu, and explains it
as meaning, "You seemed to be a
man fearing God, and a man of integ-
rity, and you were led hence to che-
rish high hopes and expectations;
but now you perceive that you were
deceived. Your piety was not sin-
cere and genuine, for the truly pious
do not thus sufl^^r. Remember there-
fore that no one perishes being inno ^
cent." Codurcus renders it, " All
thy hope was placed in thy religion,
and thy expectation in the rectitude
of thy ways ; consider now, who
perishes being innocent V' The true
sentiment of the passage has undoubt-
edly been expressed by Good, Noyes,
and Codurcus. The Hebrew ren-
dered thyficar '^sPlj^^. means doubt-
less religious fear, veneration, or
piety, and is a word synonymous with
fvXd^fia, ivaf^ia, religion. The
sentiment is, that his confidence or
hope was placed in his religion — in
his fear of God, his respect and ven-
eration for him, and in reliance on
the equity of his government. This
had been his stay in times past ; and
this was the subject which was natu-
rally brought before him then. Eli-
phaz asks whether he should not put
his trust in that God still, and not
reproach him as unequal and unjust
in liis administration. IT Tlie ujyright-
ncss of thy icays. Heb. The perfec-
tion of thy ways. Notech.i.l. The
idea is, that his hope was founded on
the integrity of his life, and on the
belief that the upright would be re-
warded. The passage may be ren-
dered.

Is not tliy confidence and thy expectation
founded on thy religion,

And on the integrity of thy ways?
This is the general sentiment which
Eliphaz proceeds to illustrate and

68

JOB.

7 Remember, I pray thee,
who ever perished, being inno-

apply. If this was a just principle, it
was natural to ask wJiether the trials
of Job did not prove that he had no
well-grounded reason for such confi-
dence.

7. Reviemher^ I pray thee, iclio ever
jjerished., being innocent ? The object
of this question is manifestly to show
to Job the inconsistency of the feel-
ings which he had evinced. lie
claimed to be a righteous man. He
had instructed and counselled many
others. He had professed confidence
in God, and in the integrity of his
own ways. It was to have been
expected that one with such preten-
sions would have evinced resignation
in the time of trial, and would have
been sustained by the recollection of
his integrity. The fact, therefore,
that Job had thus " fainted," and had
given way to impatient expressions,
showed that he was conscious that
he had not been altogether what he
had professed to be. ' Tiiere must
have been,' is the meaning of Eli-
phaz, ' something wrong, when such
calamities come upon a man, and
Avhen his faith gives way in such a
manner. It would be contrary to all
the analogy of the divine dealings to
.suppose that such a man as Job liad
professed to be, could be the subject
of overwhelmingjudgments ; for who,
I ask, ever perished, being inno-
cent.' It is a settled principle of the
divine government, that no one ever
perishes who is innocent, and that
great calamities area proof of great
guilt.' This declaration contains the
essence of all the positions held by
Eliphaz and his colleagues in this
argument. This they considered as
so established that no one could call
it in question, and on the ground of
this they inferred that one who expe-
rienced such afflictions, no matter
what his professions or liis apparent
piety had been, could not be a good
man. This was a point aI)out which
the minds of the friends of Job were
settled ; and though they seem to

cent? or where were the right-
eous cut off?

have been disposed to concede that
some afflictions might happen to good
men, yet when sudden and over-
whelming calamities such as they
now witnessed came upon them, tliey
inferred that there must have been
corresponding guilt. Their reason-
ing on tliis subject — which runs
through the book — perplexed but did
not satisfy Job, and was obviously
based on a wrong principle. — The
word perished here means the sa:ne
as cut off, and does not differ much
from being overwhelmed with calam-
ity. The whole sentence has a pro-
verbial cast 5 and the sense is, that
when persons were suddenly cut off
it proved that tliey were not inno-
cent. Job, therefore, it was inferred,
could not be a righteous man in these
unusual and very peculiar trials. 1)
Or icliere were the righteous cut off ?
That is, by heavy judgment ; by any
special and direct visitation. Eliphaz
could not moan that the righteous did
not die — for he could not be insensi-
ble to that fact ; but he must have
referred to sudden calamities. This
kind of reasoning is common — that
wlicn men are afflicted with great
and sudden calamities they must be
peculiarly guilty. It prevailed in the
time of the Saviour, and it demanded
all his authority to settle the opposite
principle. See Luke xiii. 1-5. It
is that into which men naturally and
easily fall ; and it required much
observation, and- long experience,
and enlarged views of the divine
administration, to draw the true lines
on this subject. To a certain extent,
and in certain instances, calamity
certainly does prove that there is pecu-
liar guilt. Such was the case with the
old world that was destroyed by the
deluge ; such was the case with the
cities of the plain ; such is the case in
the calamities that come upon the
drunkard, and such too in the special
curse produced by indulgence in licen-
tiousness. But this principle does not
run through all the calamities which

CHAPTER IV.

6D

8 Even as I have seen, they "
that plow iniquity, and sov/ wick-
edness, reap the same.

9 By the bLast of God they
perish, and by ' the breath of

a Ga. 6. 7. 8. 1 i.e. his anger, c. 15. 30. Is. 1].4.

fall on men. A tower may fall on the
righteous as well as the wicked ; an
earthquake may destroy the innocent
as well as the guilty ; the pestilence
sweeps away the holy and the unho-
ly, tlie profane and the pure, the
man who fears God and him who fears
him not; and the inference is now
seen to be too broad when we
infer, as the friends of Job did, that
no righteous man is cut oft' by special
calamity, or that great trials demon-
strate that such sufi'erers are less
righteous than others are. Judg-
ments are not equally adininistered in
this world, and hence the necessity
for a future w^orld of retribution. See
Notes on Luke xiii. 2, 3.

8. Even as I have seen. Eliphaz
appeals to his own observation, that
men who had led wicked lives were
suddenly cut off. Instances of this
kind he might doubtless have observ-
ed— as all may have done. But his
inference was too broad when he
concluded that all the wicked are
punished in this manner. It is true
that wicked men are thus cut off and
perish ; but it is not true that all the
wicked are thus punished in this life,
nor that any of the righteous are not
visited with similar calamities. His
reasoning was of a kind that is com-
mon in the world — that of drawing
universal conclusions from premises
that are too narrow to sustain them,
or from too few carefully observed
facts. IF They that ploio iniquity.
This is evidently a proverbial expres-
sion ; and the sense is, that as men
sow they- reap. If they sow wheat,
they reap wheat ; if barley, they reap
barley ; if tares, they reap tares.
Thus in Prov. xxii. 8.

He that soweth iniquity shall reap also vanity.

So in Hosea viii. 7 :

liis nostrils are they consumed.

10 The roaring of the lion,
and the voice of the fierce lion,
and the teeth " of the young
lions, are broken.

a Vs. 58. 6.

For they have sown the wind,

And they sliall reap the whirlwind :

It hath no stalk ; tlie bud shall yield no meal ;

If so be it yield, strangers shall swallow it up.

Thus in the Persian adage :
" He that planteth thorns shall not {father
roses." [Dk. Good.

So vEschylus •

"Arrfi anovoa &avaror h.y.aQTc{X,etai.

The field of wrong brings forth death as its
fruit.

The meaning of Eliphaz is, that
men who form plans of wicked-
ness must reap appropriate fruits.
They cannot expect -that an evil life
will produce ultimate happiness.

9. By the Mast of God. That is,
by the judgment of God. The figure
is taken from the hot and fiery wind,
which, sweeping over a field of grain,
dries it up and destroys it. In like
manner Eliphaz says the wicked
perish before God. H Jind by the
breath of his nostrils. By his
anger. The Scripture often speaks of
breathing otit indignation and wrath.
Acts ix. i. Ps. xxvii. 12. 2 Sam.
xxii. 16. Ps. xviii. 15, xxxiii. 6.
Notes on Isa. xi. 4, xxx. 28, xxxiii. 2.
The figure was probably taken from
the violent breathing which is
evinced when the mind is under any
strong emotion, especially anger.
It refers here to any judgment by
which God cuts off the wicked, but
especially to sudden calamity — like a
tempest or the pestilence.

10. The roaring of the lion. This
is evidently a continuation of the
argument in the preceding verses,
and Eliphaz is stating what had oc-
curred under his own observation.
The expressions have much of a
proverbial cast, and are designed to
convey in strong poetic language
what he supposed usually occurred.
There can be no reasonable doubt

70

JOB.

here that he refers to men in these
verses, for (1.) It is not true that the
Zz"o7i is destroyed in this manner. No
more frequent calamity comes upon
him than upon other animals, and per-
haps he is less frequently overcome
than others. (2.) Such a supposition
only would make the remarks of
Eliphaz pertinent to his argument.
He is speaking of the divine govern-
ment in vegVivAioioickedmen^ and he
uses this language to convey the idea
that they are often destroyed. (3.)
It is common in the Scriptures, as in
all Oriental writings, and indeed in
Greek and Roman poetry, to com-
pare unjust, cruel, and rapacious
men with wild animals. See Notes
on Isa. xi. Comp. Ps. x. 9, Iviii. 6.
Eliphaz, therefore, here, by the use
of the words rendered lion^ means to
say that men of savage temper, and
cruel dispositions, and untamed fero-
city, were cut oft" by the judgments
of God. It is remarkable that he
employs so many words to designate
the lion in tliese two verses. No less
than five are employed, all of them
probably denoting originally some
peculiar and striking characteristics of
the lion. It is also an illustration of the
copiousness of the Hebrew language
in this respect, and is a specimen of
the custom of speaking in Arabia.
The Arabic language is so copious
that the Arabs boast that they have
four hundred terms by which to de-
signate the lion. A large part of them
are, indeed, figurative expressions,
derived from some quality of the ani-
mal, but they show a much greater
copiousness in the language than can
be found in Western dialects. The
words used here by Eliphaz are
about all the terms by which the
lion is designated in the Scriptures.
They are ntl'IX, bnilJ, TSS, ^3-;^,
and tt'^sb. The word 7^!'^ e/afion,
pride., is given to the lion. Job xxviii.
8, xli. 26, from his proud gait; and
perhaps the word ?^?'^'^^5 ariel., 2
Sam. xxviii. 20. 1 Chron. xi. 22.
But Eliphaz has exhausted the usual
epithets of the lion in the Hebrpw

language. It may be of some inter-
est to inquire, in a few words, into
the meaning of those which he has
used. ![ The roaring of the lion.
The word here used ( •^^'7'? )j or in a
more usual form "^^^J?*, is from '"''^^
nrdh, to jniU, to pluck, and is proba-
bly given to the lion as the jniUcr in
pieces, on account of the mode in
which he devours his prey. Bochart,
however, contends that ti^e name is
not from n*N, because, says he, the
lion does not bite or crop his food
like grass, which, he says, the word
properly means, but is from the verb
ni^'n radh., to see, because, says he,
the lioi^is the most keen sighted of
the animals ; or rather from the fire
of his eyes — the terror whicl) the
glance of his eye inspires. So the
Greeks derive the word lion, Xf'orra,
from ).doj, to see. See Bochart, Hieroz.
Lib. iii. c. 1, p. 715. TF The voice of
the fierce lion. The word here trans-
lated fierce lion C^Tl^) is from^HliJ,
shdhhdl, to roar, and hence given
for an obvious reason to a lion,
Bochart understands by it the swarthy
lion of Syria; the lion which the.
Arabians call adlamon. This lion,
says he, is dark and dingy. The
usual color of tlie lion is yellow, but
Oppiau says that the lion in .Ethiopia
is sometimes found of a dark color,
liflavo/j^ooq. See Bochart, Hieroz.
Lib. i.e. I, p. 717, 718. TI Theteeth of
the young lions. The word here used,
'^■'£3, means a " young lion already
weaned, and beginning to hunt for
prey." — Gescniiis. It thus ditiers
from the "^^^^ giir, which means a
whelp, still under the care of the
dam. See Ezek. xix. 2, 3. Comp.
Bochart, Hieroz. Lib. iii. c. 1, p. 714,
Some expression is here evidently to
be understood that shall be applicable
to the voice, or the roaring of the
lion. Noyes supplies the words,
"are silenced." The words "are
broken" can be applicable only to
the teeth of the young lions. It is
unnatural to say that the " roaring"
and the "voice" are broken. The

CHAPTER IV

71

11 The old lion perisheth for
lack of prey, and the stout lion's
whelps are scattered abroad.

sense is, that the hon roars in vain,
and tliat calamity and destruction
coaie notwithstanding his growl ;
and as applied to men, it means that
men who resemble the Hon are dis-
appointed and punished.

11. The old lion. The word here
used, -^1^ denotes a lion, " so call-
ed," says Gesenius, '' from his
strength and bravery," or, according
to Umbreit, the lion in the strength
of his old age. See an examination
of the word in Bochart, Hiaroz. P. i.
Lib. iii. c. 1, p. 720. IT Perisheth for
lack of prey. Notwithstanding his^
strength and power. That is, such
a thing sometimes occurs. Eliphaz
could not maintain that it always
happened. The meaning seems to
be, that as the strength of the lion
was no security that he would not
perish for want, so it was with men
who resembled the lion in the
strength of mature age. IT And the
stout lion's ichelps. The word here
rendered " stout lion," ^■'^^, is prob-
ably derived from the obsolete root
^'^^,.lah&\ to roar., and is given to
the lion on account of his roaring.
Bochart, Hieroz. P. i. Lib. iii. c. 1,
p. 719, supposes that the word means
a lioness. These words complete
the description of the lion, and the
sense is, that the lion in no condi-
tion, or whatever name indicative of
strength might be given to it, had
power to resist God when he came
forth for its destruction. Its roaring,
its strength, its teeth, its rage, were
all in vain. IT Are scattered abroad.
That is, when the old lion is destroy-
ed, the young ones flee, and are una-
ble to offer resistance. So it is with
men. When the divine judgments
come upon them, they have no power
to make successful resistance. God
has them under control, and he comes
forth at his pleasure to restrain and
subdue them, as he does the wild

12 Now a thing was ^ secretly
brought to me, and mine ear re-
ceived a little thereof.

1 by stealth.

beasts of the desert, though so fearful
and formidable.

12. Koio a thing. To confirm his
views, Eliphaz appeals to a vision of
a most remarkable character which
he says he had had on some former
occasion on the very point under
consideration. The object of the
vision was, to show that mortal man
could not be more just than God, and
that such was the purity of the Most
High, that he put no confidence com-
paratively even in the angels. The
design for which this is introduced
here is, evidently, to reprove what
he deemed the unfounded self-confi-
dence of Job. lie supposed that he
had been placing an undue reliance
on his own integrity ; that he had
not a just view of the infinite holi-
ness of God, and had not been aware
of the true state of his own heart.
The highest earthly excel iencv, is
the meaning of Eliphaz, fades ;.way
before God, and furnishes no ground
for self-reliance. It is so imperfect,
so feeble, so far from what it should
be, that it is no wonder that a God so
holy and exalted should disregard it.
He designed also, by describing this
vision, to reprove Job for seeming to
be more wise than his Maker in
arraigning him for his dealings, and
uttering the language of complaint.
The word "thing" here means a
word (Heb.), a communication, a
revelation. IT Was secretly brought
tome. M^vg. by stealth. The Hebrew
word (^?5) means to steal; to take
away by stealth, or secretly. Here
it means, that the oracle was brought
to him as it were by stealth. It did
not come openly and plainly, but in
secrecy and silence — as a thief ap-
proaches a dwelling. An expression
similar to this occurs in Lucian, in
Amor. p. 884, as quoted by Schultens,
xhTtrnfic't'rj ?.a)Ja xal \pi&VQi0[io<i.
IT And mine ear received a little thereof

72

JOB.

13 In thoughts from the vi-

Dr. Good translates this, "And mine
ear received a whisper along with it."
Noyes, " And mine ear caught a
whisper thereof." The Vulgate,
" And my ear received secretly the
pulsations of its v^^hisper " — xcnas
susurri ejus. The word rendered
" a little," "j"?.^, occurs only here
and in ch. xxvi. 14, where it is also
rendered little. It means, according
to Gesenius, a transient sound rapidly
uttered and swiftly passing away.
Symm. ^it&voiauoq — aichispcr. Ac-
cording to Castell, it means a sound
confused and feeble, such as one re-
ceives when a man is speaking in a
hurried manner, and when he cannot
catch all that is said. This is proba-
bly the sense here. Eliphaz means
to say that he did not get all that
might have been said in tlie vision.
It occurred in such circumstances, and
what was said was delivered in such
a manner, that he did not hear it all
distinctly. But he heard an impor-
tant sentiment, which he proceeds to
apply to the case of Job. — It has been
made a question whether Eliphaz
really had such a vision, or whether
he only supposed such a ci.se, and
whether the whole representation is
not poetic. The fair construction is,
that he had had such a vision. In
sueli a supposition there is nothing
inconsistent with the mode in which
the will of God was made known in
ancient times; and in the sentiments
uttered there is nothing inconsistent
with what might have been spoken
by a celestial visitant on such an oc-
casion. All that was spoken was in
accordance with the truth every-
where revealed in the ^Scriptures,
though Eliphaz perverted it to prove
that Job was insincere and hypocriti-
cal. The general sentiment in the
oracle was, that man was not pure
and holy compared with his Maker ;
that no one was free from guilt in his
fright; that there was no virtue in
nan in which God could put entire
coafidence; and that, therefore, all
were subjected to trials^ and to death-.

sions of tlie night, when deep

But this general sentiment he pro-
ceeds to apply to Job, and regards
it as teaching, that since he was over-
whelmed with such peculiar afflic-
tions, there must have been somie
secret sin of which he was guilty,
which was the cause of his calami-
ties.

13. la tJiGughts. Amidst the
tumultuous and anxious thoughts
which occur in the night. The
Hebrew word rendered thoughts,
(C'^Srb), means thoughts wliich
divide and distract the mind. U From
the visions of the night. On the
meaning of the word visions, see
Notes on Isa. i. 1. This was a com-
mon mode in which the will of God
was made known in ancient times.
For an extended description of this
method of communicating the will
of God, tije reader may consult my
Introduction to Isaiah, § 7. H When
deep sleep fallcth on men. The
word here rendered deep sleep,
'^^^"'c', commonly denotes a pro-
found repose or slumber brought
upon man by divine agency. So
Schultens in loc. It is the word used
to describe tb.e " deep .'^lecp" wliich
God brought upon Adam when he
took from his side a rib to form Eve,
Gen. ii. 21 ; and that, also, which
came upon Abraham, when an horror
of great darkness fell upon him.
Gen. XV. 12. It means here pro-
found repose, and the vision which
he saw was at that solemn hour when
the world is usually locked in slum
ber. Umbreit renders this, " In the
time of thoughts, before the , night-
visions," and supposes that Eliphaz
refers to the time that was especially
favorable to meditation and to serious
contcm-plation before the time of
sleep and of dreams. In support of
this use of the preposition "I'S, min,
he appeals to Hagg. ii. 16, and Nol-
dius Concord. Part. p. 546. Our
common version, however, has
probably preserved the true sense
of the passage. It is impossible to

CHAPTER IV.

73

sleep falleth on men,

14 Fear ' came upon me, and

1 Vict mc.

conceive any thing more sublime
than this whole description. It was
midnight. There wus solitude and
silence all around. At tliat fearful
hour this vision came, and a senti-
ment was connnunicatcd to Eliphaz
0f the utmost importance, and fitted
to make the deepest possible impres-
sion. The time; the fjuiet ; the
form of iJie image; its passing along,
and then suddenly standing still ; the
silence, and then the deep and solemn
voice — all were fitted to produce the
profoundest awe. So graphic and so
powerful is this description, that it
would be impossible to read it — and
particularly at midnight and alone —
without something of the feeling of
awe and horror which Eliphaz says it
produced on his mind. It is a de-
scription which for power has proba-
bly never been equalled, though an
attempt to describe an apparition
from the invisible world has been
often made. Virgil has attempted
sucli a description, which, though
exceedingly beautiful, is far inferior
to this of the Sage of Teman. It is the
description of the appearance of the
wife of yEneas :
Infelix simulachrum atque ipsius umbra

Creiisae
Visa niihi ante oculos, et notd major imago.
Obslupui ; steteruntque comoc, et vox fauci-

bus haet-it. yEn. ii. 77:2.

" Al length she hears,

And sudden through the shades of night ap-

])ears ;
Appears no more Creiisajnor my wife,
But a pale spectre, larger tlian the life.
Agliast, astonished, and struck dumb with

fear,
I stood : like bristles rose my stiffened hair."

DUYDEN.

In the poems of Ossian, there are
several descriptions of apparitions or
ghosts, probably more sublime than
are to be found in any other unin-
spired writings. One of the most
niagnificont of these, is that of the
Spirit of Loda, which I will copy, in
order that it may be compared with
the one before us. " The wan cold

trembling, which made ^ all
bones to shake.

2 the multitude of.

my

moon rose in the east. Sleep de-
scended on the youths. Their blue
helmets glitter to the beam ; the
fading fire decays. But sleep did not
rest on the hing. He rose in tl'.e
midst of his arms, and slowly ascend-
ed the hill, to behold the flame of
Sarno's tower. The flame was dim
and distant : the moon hid her red
flame in the east. A blast came
from the mountain ; on its wings was
the Spirit ok Loda. He came to
his place in his terrors, and shook
his dusky spear. His eyes appear
like flames in his dark face; his
voice is like distant thunder. Fingal
advanced his spear amid the night,
and raised his voice on high. ' Son
of Night retire : call thy winds, and
fly ! Why dost thou come to my
presence with thy shadowy arms .''
Do I fear thy gloomy form, spirit of
dismal Loda .'' Weak is thy shield
of clouds ; feeble is that meteor, thy
sword ! The blast rolls them toge-
ther; and thou thyself art lost. Fly
from my presence. Son of Night !
Call thy winds and fly !' ' Dost thou
force me from my place .'" replied
the hollow voice. ' The people
bend before me. I turn the battle
in the field of the brave. I look
on the nations, and they vanish ;
my nostrils pour the blast of death.
I come abroad on the winds ; the
tempests are before my face, but my
dwelling is calm above the clouds ;
the fields of my rest are pleasant.' "
Comp. also, the description of the
Ghost in Hamlet.

14. Fear came upon me. Marg.
Met vie. The Chaldee Paraphrase
renders this, "a tempest," J^j^"^!*
The LXX, <I)Q{.y.i] — shuddering, or
horror. The sense is, that he be-
came greatly alarmed at the vision
TI Which made all my hones to shake.
Marg. As in Hebrew, the multi-
tude of my hones. A similar image
is employed by Virgil,

74

JOB.

15 Then a spirit passed before
my face ; the hair of my flesh
stood up :

16 It stood still, but I could

Obstupuere animi, gelidusque per ima cucunit
Ossii tremor i .... ^n. ii. J20.

" A cold frenior ran through all their bones."
15. Then a spirit passed before my
face. He does not intimate whether
it was the spirit of a man, or an
angel who thus appeared. The be-
lief in such apparitions was common
in the early ages, and indeed has pre-
vailed at all times. No one can de-
monstrate that God could not com-
municate his will in such a manner
as this, or by a messenger deputed
from his immediate presence to im-
part valuable truth to men. IF The
hair of my flesh stoodnp. This is an
effect which is known often to be
produced by fear. Sometimes the
hair is made to turn white almost in
an instant, as an effect of sudden
alarm ; but usually the effect is to
make it stand on end. Seneca uses
language remarkably similar to this
in describing the effect of fear, in
Hercule (Etaco :

Vagos per artu.s errat excussos tremor,
Ercetus horret crini.'!, impulsis ad hoc
Stat terror animi.s, et cor attonitum salit,
Paviduinque trepidis palpitat venis jecur.

So Virgil,

Steteruntque comae, et vo.x faucibus hssit.
JEn. ii 774.

Sec also ^n. iii. 48, iv. 289.
So also JEn. xii. 868 :

Arrccta;qiie horroro comje.
A similar description of the effect of
fear is given in the Ghost's speech to
Hamlet :

" Bift that I am forbid

To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold, wliose lightest word
Would iiarrow up thy soul, freeze thy young

blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars start from their

.■spheres,
Thy knotty and combined locks to part,
And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the frotful porcupine."

The fact here referred to — that fear
or fright causes the hair to stand on
end — it too well established, and too

not discern the form thereof: an
image ivas before mine eyes ;
^ there was silence, and I heard
a voice, saying,

1 or, / keard a still voice.

common to admit a doubt. The
cause may be, that sudden fear iias
the effect to drive the blood to the
heart, as the seat of vitality, and the
extremities are left cold, and the
skin thus contracts, and the effect is
to raise the hair.

16. It stood still. It took a fixed
position and looked on me. It at first
glided by, or towards him, then stood
in an immovable position, as if to
attract liis attention, and to prepare
him for the solemn announcement
which it was about to make. This
vv'as the point in which most horror
would be felt. Wo should be les!»
alarmed at any tiling which a strange
messenger should say, than to have
him stand and fix his eyes steadily
and silently upon us. Hence Hora-
tius, in ' Hamlet,' tortured by the
imperturbable silence of the Ghost,
earnestly entreated it to give him
relief by speaking.

Ho7: — What art thou that usurp'st this time
of night,
Together with that fair and warlike form
In which the majesty of buried Denmark
Did sometime march? By heaven, I charge
thee, speak.
Mar. — It is^offended.
Bcr.— Secl It stalks away.
Hor. — Stay ; speak : speak, I charge thee
speak. Act i. So. i.

Re-enter Ghost.
Hor. — But, soft ; behold ! lo, where it cornea

again !
I'll cross it, thougli it blast mo. — Stay, illusion !
If thou hast any sou-id, or use of voice.
Speak to me :

If there be any good thing to be done,
That may to thee do ease, and grace to me
Speak to niu :

If thou art privy to thy country's fate, _
Which, happily, foreknowing may avoid
O speak!

Or if thou hast uphoanled in thy life
E-\tottod treasure in the womb of earth.
For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in

death,
Speak of it ; stay, and speak. Act. i Sc. i.

Evter Ohcst.

Hoi:— hook, my lord it comes !

CHAPTER IV.

17 Shall mortal man be more just than God ? Shall a man be

Ham. — Angels and ministers of grace, defend

us!
Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd,
Bring with tiiee aiis from heaven, or blasts

from hell.
Be thy intents wicked or charitable,
Thou ccm'st in such a quesiionable shape,
That I will speak to thes : I'll call thee,

Hamlet,
King, fiither, royal Dane : O, answer rnc ;
Let me net burst in ignorance ! Act i. Sc. iv.

IT But I could not discern the form
thereof. This might have arisen
from fear, or from the darkness of
the night, or because the spirit was
not distinct enough in its outline to
enable him to do it. There is here
just the kind of obscurity which is
essential to the sublime, and the
statement of this circumstance is a
master-stroke in the poet. A less
perfect imagination would have at-
tempted to describe the form of the
spectre, and would have given an ac-
count of its shape, and eyes, and
color. But none of these are here
hinted at. The subject is left so
that the imagination is most deeply
impressed, and the whole scene has
the aspect of the highest sublimity.
Noyes very improperly renders this,
" Its face I could not discern." But
the word used, f^^?"?'?, does not mean
face here merely ; it means the form,
figure, aspect, of the spectre. IT An
image was before mine eyes. Some
form ; some appearance was before
me, wljose exact figure f could not
mark or describe. IT There was
silence. Marg. 1 heard a still voice.
So Rosenmuller says that the word
here, 1^'^^;', does not mean silence,
but a gentle breeze, or air — auram
lenem — such as Elijah heard after the
tempest had gone by, and when God
i;poke to him, 1 Kings xix. 12, 13.
Grotius supposes that it means here
the ^ip-rn Bath-Kol, or " daughter
of the voice," of which the Jewish
Rabbins speak so often — the still and
gentle voice in which God spoke to
men. The word used (n'O'C^) usually
means silence, stillness, as of the
winds after a storm, a calm, Ps, cvii.

29. The LXX render it, « I heard
a gentle breeze, aloav, and a voice,"
y.av (jpw)'A/r. But it seems to me that
the common reading is preferable.
There was stillness — a solemn,
awful silence, and then he heard a
voice impressively speaking. The
stillness was designed to fix the at-
tention, and to prepare the mind for
the sublime announcement which
was to be made.

17. Shall mortal man. Or, shall
feeble man. The idea of mortal ia
not necessarily implied in the word
here used, "i^'l-l^. It means vian ', and
is usually applied to the lower classes
or ranks of men. Notes on Isa. viii.
1. The common opinion in regard to
this word is, that it is derived from
^?^, to be sick, or ill at ease ; and
then desperate, or incurable — as of a
disease or wound. Jer. xv. 18. Mic.
i. 9. Job xxxiv. 6. Gesenius (Lex.)
calls this derivation in question ; but
if it be the correct idea, then the word
here used originally referred to man
as feeble, and as liable to sickness
and calamity. I see no reason to
doubt that the common idea is cor-
rect, and that it refers to man as
weak and feeble. The other word
here used to denote man ("i^?) is
given to him on account of his
strength. The two words, therefore,
embrace man whether considered a.s
feeble or strong — and the idea is, ti)at
nojie of the race could be more pure
than God. IT Be m.orc just than God.
Some expositors have supposed that
the sense of this ex[;ression in the
Hebrew is, " Can man be pure before
God, or in the sight of God .?"
They allege that it could not have
been made a question whether man
could be more pure than God, or
more just than his Maker. Such is
the view presented of the passage by
RosenmiUler, Good, Noyes, and
Umbreit .•

" Shall mortal man be just befoie God?

Shall man be pure before his Maker?"
In support of this view, and this use

76

JOB.

more pure than his Maker ?
IS Behold, he put no trust in

1 or. nor in his angels, ia whom he put light.

of the Hebrew preposition '^, Rosen-
mailer appeals to Jcr. li. 5. Num.
xxxii. 22. Ezek. xxxiv. 18. This,
liowevcr, is not wholly satisfactory.
The more literal translation is that
which occurs in the common version,
and tliis accords with the Vulgate
and the Chaldee. If so understood,
it is designed to repress and reprove
the pride of men, which arraigns the
equity of the divine government,
and which seems to be vviscr and bet-
ter than God. Thus understood, it
would be a pertinent reproof of Job,
vvjio in his complaint (ch. iii.) had
seemed to be wiser than God. lie had
impliedly charged liim with injustice
and wantof goodness. All men who
murmur against God, and who arraign
the equity and goodness of the divine
dispensations, claim to be wiser and
better than he is. They would have
ordered things more wisely, and in a
better manner. They would have
kept the world from the disorders and
sins which actually e.xist, and would
have made it pure and happy. How
pertinent, therefore, was it to ask
whether man could be more pure or
just than his Maker ! And how per-
tinent was the solemn question pro-
pounded in the hearing of Eliphaz by
the celestial messenger — a question
that seems to have been originally
proposed in view of the complaints
and murmurs of a self-confident race !
18. Behold, he jiut no trust in his
servants. These are evidently the
words of the oracle that appeared to
Eliphaz.' See Schultens, in loc. The
word servants here refers to angels ;
and the idea is, that God was so pure
that he did not confide even in the
exalted holiness of angels — meaning
that their holiness v/as infinitely in-
ferior to his. The design is to state
tliat God had the highest possible
holiness, such as to render the holi-
ness of all otiiers, no matter liow
exalted, as nothing — as all lesser

his servants; * and his angels"
he charged with folly.

1 2 Pe. 2. 4.

lights are as nothing before the glory
of the sun. The Cliaidee renders
this, "Lo, in his servants, the pro-
phets, he does not confide ;" Ujit the
more correct reference is undoubtedly
to the angels. 1[ Jiyid his angels he,
charged loith folly. Marg. Or, Kor
in his angels in wliom he put light.
The different rendering in the text
and in the margin, has arisen from
the supposed ambiguity of the word
employed here — "^^H^- '^ '^ ^ word
which occurs nowhere else, and
hence it is difiicult to determine its
true signification. Walton renders it,
gloriatio, glorying; Jerome, j>ruvi-
tas, icickedness ; the LXX, ay.olior,
fault, blemish; Dr. Good, default.,
or defection; Noycs, frailty. Gese-
nius says that the word is derived
from "r^j hMdl (No. 4), to be fool-
ish. So also Kimchi explains it.
According to this, the idea is that ot
foolishness — i. e. they are far infe-
rior to God in wisdom ; or, as the
word folly in the Scriptures is often
synonymous with sin, it might mean
that their purity was so far inferior to
his as to appear like impurity and
sin. The essential idea is, that even
the holiness of angels was not lo be
compared with God. It is not that
they were polluted and unholy, for,
in their measure, they are perfect;
but it is that their holiness was as
nothing compared with the infinite
perfection of God. It is to be re-
membered that a part of the angels
had sinned, and they had shown that
their integrity' was not to be confided
in ; and whatever might be the holi-
ness of a crcff??<r6, it was possible to
conceive that he might sin. But no
such idea could for a mon)ent enter
the mind in regard to God. Th.e
object of this whole arguinent is to
show, that if confidence could not l;c
reposed in the angels, and if all their
holiness was as nothing before God,

CHAPTER IV.

77

19 How much less in them

little confidence conid be placed in
nian ; and that it was presumption for
liini to sit in judgment on tlie equity
of the divine dealings.

19. How much less (:r|5<). This
particle has the general sense of ad-
dition, accession, especially of some-
thing more important; yea more,
besides, even. Gesenius. The mean-
ing here is, ' how much more true is
this of man !' He puts no confidence
in iiis angels ; he charges them with
frailty ; how much more strikingly
true must this be of man ! It is not
merely, as our common translation
would seem to imply, that he ])Ut
much less confidence in ntan than in
angels: it is, that all he had said
must be more strikingly true of man,
who dwelt in so frail and humble
a habitation. Ii In t/tcm tliat dwell
in houses of clay. In man. The
phrase ' houses of clay ' refers to the
body made of dust. The sense is,
that man, from the fiict that lie dwells
in such a tabernacle, is far inferior to
the pure spirits that surround the
throne of God, and much more liable
to sin. The body is represented as a
temporary tent, i;abernacle, or dwell-
ing for the soul. That dwelling is
soon to be taken down, and its ten-
ant, the soul, to be removed to other
abodes. So Paul (2 Cor. v. 1) speaks
of the body as ?] fm'yeinc; ijttQv
olyJa rnv oy.rji'ocq — " our earthly
house of this tabernacle." So Plato
speaks of it as ytjii-ni' iyx/ivnq — an
eartldy tent; and so Aristo])hanes
(Av. 587), among other contemptu-
ous expressions applied to men, calls
thein TtlaniiaTa Ttrjlov — 'vessels of
clay.' The idea iii the verse before
us is beautiful, and as ailecting as it
is beautiful A house of clayi'^'^P)
was littl(! fitted to bear the extremes
of heat and cold, of storm and sun-
shine, of rain, and- frost, and snow,
and would soon crumble and decay.
It must be a frail and temporary
dwelling. It could not endure the
changes of the seasons and the lapse

that dwell

houses of clay,

marble. So with our bodies. They
can bear little. They are frail, infirm,
and feeble They are easily pros-
trated, and soon fall back to their na-
tive dust. How can they who dwell
in such edifices, be in any way com-
pared with the Infinite and Eternal
God .' ir Whose fonndation is in tlie
dust. Ahoiise to be firm and secure
should be founded on a rock. See
Matt. vii. 25. The figure is kept up
here of comparing man with a house ,
and as a house that is built on the
sand or the dust may be easily wash-
ed away (comp. Matt. vii. 26, 27),
and could not be confided in, so it
was with man. He was like such a
dwelling; and no more confidence
could be reposed in him than in such
a house. IT SNh.iQ.h arc crushed. They
are broken in pieces, trampled on,
destroyed (!^^"ri), by the most insig-
nificant objects. ir Before the moth.
See Notes on Isa. I. 9, li. 8. The
word moth (^?), Gr. ot]-, Vulg. tinea ^
denotes properly an insect which
flies by night, and particularly that
which attaches itself to woollen
cloth and consumes it. it is possible,
however, that the word here denotes
the motli-ioorm. This " moth-worm
is one state of the creature, wliich
first is inclosed in an egg, and thence
issues in the torin of a worm; after a
time, it quits the form of a worm, to
assume that of the complete state of
the insect, or the moth." Calmet,
The comparison here, therefore, is
not that of a moth flying against a
house to overset it, nor of the moth
consuming man as it does a garment,
but it is tliat of a feeble worm tliat
preys upon man and destroys him ;
and the idea is, that the most feeble
of all objects may crush him. The
following remarks from Niebuhr
(Reisebe.schreibung von Arabicn, S.
11)3), will serve to illustrate this pas-
sage, and show that so feeble a thing
as a worm may destroy human life.
' There is in Yemen, in India, and

78

JOB.

whose foundation is in the dust,
which are crushed before the

on the coasts of the South Sea, a com-
mon sickness caused by the Guinea,
or nerve-worm, known to European
physicians by the name of vena Medi-
nensis. It is supposed in Yemen that
this worm is drunk in from the bad
water which tJie inhabitants of tliose
countries are under a necessity of
using. Many of the Arabians on this
account take the precaution to strain
the water which they drink. If any
one lias by accident swallowed an
egg of this worm, no trace of it is to
be seen until it appears on the skin ;
and the first indication of it there, is
the irritation which is caused. On
our j)hysician, a few days before his
death, five of these worms made their
appearance, although v/e had been
more than five months absent from
Arabia. On the island of Charedsch,
I saw a French oflicer, whose name
was Le Page, who after a long and
arduous journey, which he had made
on foot, from Pondicherry to Surat,
through the lieart of India, found the
traces of such a worm in him, which
he endeavored to extract from his
body. He believed that he had
swallowed it when drinking the wa-
ters of Mahratta. The worm is not
dangerous, if it can be drawn from the
body without being broken. The
Orientals are accustomed, as soon
as the worni makes its appearance
through the skin, to wind it up on a
piece of straw, or of dry wood. It is
finer than a thread, and is from two
to three feet in length. The wind-
ing up of the worm frequently occu-
pies a week ; and no further incon-
venience is experienced, than the
care whicli is requisite not to break
it. If, however, it is broken, it draws
itself back into the body, and then
becomes dangerous. Lameness, gan-
grene, or the loss of life itself is the
result.' See Notes on Isaiah referred
to above. The comparison of man
with a worm, or an insect, on account
of his feebleness and shortness of life,

moth ?

20 They are

destroyed from

1 beaten in pieces

is common in the sacred writings,
and in the classics. The following
passage from Pindar, quoted by Schul-
tens, hints at the same idea

ETiaufoni, 11 St riq ; t{ .6 nu riq ;
^y.idq orao ay 0-00)7X01.

' Things of a day ! What is any one .'
What is he not ? Men are the dJ-eara
of a shadow !' — Tlie idea in the pas-
sage befiire us is, that men are ex-
ceedingly frail, and that in such crea-
tures no confidence can be placed.
How should such a creature, there-
fore, presmne to arraign the wisdom
and equity of the divine dealings .''
How cari he be more just or wise
than God ';

20. Tkcy are destroyed from morn'
lag to evening. Marg. beaten in
pieces. This is nearer to the Hebrew.
The phrase 'from morning to even-
ing ' means between the morning and
the evening; that is, they live scarcely
a single day. See Notes on Isaiah
xxxviii. 12. The idea is, not the
continuance of the work of destruc-
tion from morning to evening; but
that man's life is exceedingly short,
so short that he scarce seems to live
from morning to night. What a
beautiful expression, and how true '.
How little qualified is such a being
to sit in judgment on the doings of
the Most High I IT They perish for
ever. Without being restored to life.
They pass away, and nothing is ever
seen of them again I fl Without any
regarding it. Without its being
noticed. How strikingly true is this !
What a narrow circle is afl'ected by
the death of a man, and how soon does
even that circle cease to be affected !
A few relatives and friends feel it
and weep over the loss ; but the mass
of men are unconcerned. It is like
taking a grain of sand from the sea-
shore, or a drop of water from the
ocean. There is indeed one less, bu<
the place is soon supplied, and the
ocean rolls on its tumultuous billows

CHAPTER IV.

79

morning to evening : they perish
for ever, without any regarding
if.

as thougli none had been taken away.
So with human life. The affairs of
men will roll on .; the world will be
as busy, and active, and thoughtless
as thoughwe had not been ; and soon,
O how painfully soon to human pride,
will our names be forgotten ! The
circle of friends will cease to weep,
and then cease to remember us. The
last memorial that we lived, will be
gone. The house that we built, the
bed on which we slept, the count-
ing-room that we occupied, the
monuments that we raised, the books
that we made, the stone that we
directed to be placed over our
graves, will all be gone ; and the last
memento that we ever lived, will
have faded away ! How vain is man !
How vain is pride ! How foolish is
ambition ! How important the an-
nouncement that there is another
world, v/here we may live on for ever!
21. Doth not their excellency^ &c.
Dr. Good renders this, " Their flut-
tering round is over with them," by a
very fjrced construction of the pas-
sage. ■ Translators and expositors
have been very much divided in opin-
ion as to its meaning; but the sense
seems to be, that whatever is excel-
lent in men is torn away or removed.
Tlieir excellence does not keep them
from death, and they are taken off
before they are truly wise. The
word " excellency " here refers not
only to moral excellency or virtue,
but every thing in which they excel
others. Whatever there is in them of
strength, or virtue, or influence, is
removed. The word here used
C'^^'!!) means, literally, something
hanging over or redundant (from
'nn^, to hang over, be redundant, or to
remain), and hence it means abun-
dance or remainder, and then that
which exceeds or abounds. It is thus
applied to any distinguished virtue or

21 Doth " not their excellency
which is in them go away ? they
die, * even without wisdom

a Ps. 146, 3, 4. b Is. 2. 22.

excellency, as that which exceeds the
ordinary limits or bounds. Men per-
ish ; and however eminent they may
have been, they are soon cut off, and
vanish away. The object here is to
show how weak, and frail, and un-
worthy of confidence arc men even
in their most elevated condition.
IT They die even without icisdom. That
is, before they become truly wise.
The object is to show, that men arc
so short-lived compared with angels,
that they have no opportunity to
become distinguished for wisdom.
Their days are few ; and however
careful may be their observation, be-
fore they have had time to become
truly wise, they are hurried away.
They are, therefore, wholly disquali-
fied to sit in judgment on the doings
of God, and to arraign, as Job had
done, the divine wisdom.

Here closes the oracle which was
addressed to Eliphaz. It is a descrip-
tion of unrivalled sublimity. In the
sentiments that were addressed to
Eliphaz, there is nothing that is con-
tradictory to the other communica-
tions which God has made to men, or
to what is taught by reason. Every
reader of this passage must feel that
the thoughts are singularly sublime,
and that they arp such as are adapted
to make a deep unprcssion on the
mind. The error in Eliphaz consisted
in the application which he makes of
them to Job, and in the inference
which he draws, that he must have
been a hypocrite. This inference is
drawn in the following chapter. As
the oracle stands here, it is pertinent
to the argument which Eliphaz had
commenced, andjustfitted to furnish
a reproof of Job for the irreverent
manner in which ho had spoken, and
the complaints which he had brought
(ch. iii.) against the dealings of God.
Let us learn from the oracle : (1.)
I That man cannot be more just than

80

JOB.

God ; and let this be an abiding prin-
ciple of our lives; (2) Not to mur-
mur at his dispensations, but to con-
fide in his superior wisdom and good-
ness ; (3.) That our opportunities of
observation, and our rank in exist-
ence, are as nothiug compared with
those of the angels, who are yet so
inferior to God as to be charged with
folly ; (4.) That our foundation is

in the dust, and that the most insig.
nificant objectinay sweep us away;
and (5.) That in these circumstances
humility becomes us. Our proper
situation is in the dust ; and whatever
calamities may befall us, we should
confide in God, and feel that he is
qualified to direct our afiairs, and the
afiairs of the universe.

CHAPTER V.

/~^ALL now, if there be any
^^ that will answer thee ; and

1. Callnoio. The expressions here
used, as Noyes has well observed,
seem to be derived from the law,
where the word call denotes the lan-
guage of the co'uplainant, and ansicer
that of the defendant. According to
this, the meaning of the words 'call
now ' is, in jus voca : that is, call the
Deity to account, or bring an action
against him ; or more properly, enter
into an argument or litigation, as
before a tribunal. See Notes on Isa.
xli. 1, where similar langunge occurs
IT If there he any that toill ansiccrthce.
If there is any one who will respond
to tiiee in such a trial. Noyes renders
this, " See if He will answer thee ;"
that is, " See if the Deity will con-
descend to enter into a judicial con-
troversy with tiiee, and give an ac-
count of his dealings towards thee."
Dr. Good renders it, " Which of these
can come forward to thee;" i. e.
" Which of these weakly, ephemeral,
perishing insects — which of these
nothings can render thee any assist-
ance .-*" The meaning is probably,
' Go to trial, if you can find any
respondent; if there is any one will-
ing to engage in such a debate ; and
let the matter be fairly adjudicated

to which of the saints wilt thou
' turn ?

1 01, look.

and determined. Let an argument
be entered into before a competent
tribunal, and the considerations pro
and con be urged on the point now
u.nder consideration.' The desire of
Eliphaz was, that there should be a
fiir investigation, where all that could
be said on one side or the other of
the question v/ould be urged, and
where tliere would be a decision of
the important point in dispute. He
evidently felt that Job would be
foiled in the argument before whom-
soever it should be conducted, and
whoever might take up the opposite
side ; and hence he says that he could
get no one of " the saints " to assist
him in the argument. In the expres-
sion, "If there be any that will
answ-er thee," he may mean to inti-
mate that he would find no one who
would be willing even to go into an
investigation of the subject. The case
was so plain, the views of Job were
so obviously wrong, the argument:]
for the opinion of Eliphaz were so
obvious, that he doubted whether any
one could be found who would be
willing to make it the occasion of a
set and form;il trial, as if there could
be any doubt about it. 11 And to

CHAPTER V.

81

2 For wrath killeth the fool-

1 or, indignation.

tchich of the saints ivilt thou turn ?
Marg. as in Heb. looh. That is, to
whicii of them wilt thou look to be
an advocate for such sentiments, or
which of them would be willing to
go into an argument on so plain a
subject. Grotius supposes that Eli-
phaz, having boasted that he had
produced a divine revelation in his
favor (ch. iv.), now calls upon Job to
produce, if he can, something of the
same kind in his defence, or to see if
there were any of the heavenly spirits
Vv ho would give a similar revelation in
}ds favor. The word here rendered
" saints " (^''^'^k') means properly
those who are sanctified or holy ; and
it may be either applied to holy men,
or to angels. It is generally supposed
that it here refers to angels. So Schul-
tens, Rosenmiiller, Noyes, Good, and
others, understand it. The v.'^ord is
often used in this sense in the Scrip-
tures. So the LXX understand it
here — y\ eYrira a.yyf).uji' ayfu)v rUpij.
Such is probably its meaning ; and the
sen.=?e of the passage is, ' Call now
upon any one, and you will find none
wHlingto be the advocate of such sen-
timents as you have urged. No holy
beings — men or angels — would de-
fend them.' By this, probably, Eli-
phaz designed to show Job that he
differed frgm all holy beings, and that
his views were not those of a truly
pious man. If he could find no one,
either among holy angels orpious men,
to be the advocate of his opinions, it
followed that he must be in error.

2. For un-ath kilieth the foolish
wan. That is, the wrath of God.
Tlie word foolish here is used as
synonymous with wicked., because
wickedness is supreme folly. The
general proposition here is, that the
w:cked are cut off, and that they are
overtaken with heavy calamities in
this life. In proof of this, Eliphaz
appeals in the following verses to his
own observation. The implied infer-
ence is, that Job, having had all his
possessions taken away, and having

ish man and 'envy slayeth tlie
silly one.

been overwhelmed with unspeakably
great personal calamities, was to be
regarded as having been a great sin-
ner. Some suppose, however, that
the word lorath here relates to the
indignation or the repining of tlie
individual himself, and that the refer-
ence is to the fact that such wrath or
repining preys upon the spirit, and
draws down the divine vengeance.
This is tlie view of Scliultens, and of
Noyes. But it seems more probable
that Eliphaz means to state the pro-
position, that the wrath of God burns
against tlie wicked, and that the fol-
lowing verses are an illustration of
this sentiment, derived from his own
observation. 'I And envy. Marg. in-
di'mation. Jerome, invidia., envy.
Sept. tijloc- Castellio, severitns ac
vehcmentia. The Hebrew word '^>^?P?
means jealousy, envy, ardor, zeal.
It may be applied to any strong affec-
tion of the mind ; any fervent, glow-
ing, and burning emotion. Gesenius
supposes it means here envy, as
excited by the prosperity of others.
To me it seems that the connection
requires us to understand it of wrath,
or indignation, as in Deut. xxix. 19.
Ps. Ixxix. 5. As applied to God, it
often means his jealousy, or his anger,
when the affections of men are placed
on other objects than himself Num.
XXV. 11. Zeph. i. 18, et al. IT Slayetk
the silly one. Good and Noyes
render this, " the weak man." Je-
rome, parvulum., the little one. The
LXX,7T?7t).ayi]fif'rnv, the erring. Wal-
ton, ardelionem, the busy-hody. The
Hebrew word >^^P is from '^''\^,
Pdthdh, to open, to expand ; and
hence the participle is applied to on
who opens his lips, or whose mouth
is open ; that is, a garrulous person,
Prov. XX. 11) ; and also to one w^ho is
open-hearted, frank, ingenuous, unsus-
picious ; and hence one who is easi-
ly influenced by others, or whose
heart may be easily enticed. Thu3
it comes to mean one who is simple

82

JOB.

3 1" have seen the foolish tak-
ing root ; but suddenly I cursed
his habitation.

Ps. 37. 35.

and foolisli. In this sense it is used
here, to denote one wlio is so simple
and foolish as to he drawn aside by
weak arguments and unfounded opin-
ions. I have no doubt that Eliphaz
meant, by insinuation, to apply this
to Job, as being a weak-minded man,
for having allowed the views which
he entertained to make such an im-
pression on his mind, and for having
expressed Jiimself as he had done.
The proposition is general ; but it
would be easy to understand how he
intended it to be applied.

3. / have seen the foolish. The
wicked. To confirm the sentiment
which he had just advanced, Elipliaz
appeals to his own observation, and
says that though the wicked for a
lime seem to be prosperous, yet he
had observed that they were soon
overtaken with calamity and cut
down. He evidently means that
prosperity was no evidence of the
divine favor ; but that when it had
continued for a little time, and was
then withdrawn, it was proof that
the man who had been prospered
was at heart a wicked man. It was
easy to understand that he meant
that this should be applied to Job,
who, though he had been favored
with temporary prosperity, was now
revealed to be at heart a wicked man.
The sentiment here advanced by Eli-
phaz, as the result of his observation,
strikingly accords with the observa-
tion of David, as expressed in the
XXXVII Psalm :

I have seen tlio wicked in great power,
And spreading him.self like a green bay-tree ;
Yet lie passed away, und, lo, he was nut :
Yea, I souglit him, but he could not be found.

Vs. 35, 36.
H Takinffvoot. This figure, to denote
prosperous and rapid growth, is often
used in the Scriptures. Thus in
Psalm i. 3 :
And he shall be like a tree planted by th rivers

of water,
That bnngoth forth his fruit in bis season.

4 His children are far from
safety, and they are crushed in
the gate, neither is there any to
deliver tJiejii.

So Isa. xxvii. 6 :

Those that come out of Jacob shall he cause to

take root ;
Israel shall blossom and bud,
And shall lill the face of the world with fruit.

So Ps. Ixxx. 9, 10 :

Thou preparedst room before it,
And didst cause it to take deep root,
And it filled the land.

The hills were covered Avith the shadow ofil,
And the boughs thereof were like the goodly
cedars.

M But suddenly. Meaning eithei
that calamity came upon him sud-
denhj — as it had upon Job, that i?:,
without any apparent preparaticn, or
that calamity came before a great
7i'hih., that is, that this prosperity did
not continue. Probably there is an
implied reference here to the case of
Job, meaning that lie had known
just such instances before ; and as
the case of Job accorded with what
he had before seen, he hastened to
the conclusion that Job must have
been a wicked man. IT I cursed his
habitation. I had occasion to regard
it as accursed ; that is, I witnessed
the downfall of his fortunes, and pro-
nounced his habitation accursed. I
saw that God regarded it as such, and
that he had suddenly punished him.
This accords with the observation of
David, referred to above.

4. His cliildren are far from safety
That is, this is soon manifest by
their being cut off or subjected to
calamity. The object of Eliphaz is,
to state the result of his own obser-
vation, and to show how calamity
overtook the wicked though thoy
even prospered for a time. He begins
with that wliich a man would feel
most — the calamity which comes
upon his children, and says that God
would punish him in them. Every
word of this would go to the heart of
Job ; for he could not but feel that it
was aimed at him, and that the de-
sign was to prove that tlie calamities
that had come upon his children

CHAPTER V.

83

5 Whose harvest the hungry
eateth up, atid taketh it even out

w^ere a proof of his own wicked-
ness and of the divine displeasure.
It is remarkable that Job listens to
this with the utmost patience. There
is no interruption of the speaker ; no
breaking in upon tiie argument of his
friend ; no mark of uneasiness.
Oriental politeness required that a
speaker siiould be heard attentively
through whatever he uiight say. See
the Intro. § 7. (13.). Cutting and
severe, therefore, as this strain of re-
mark must have been, the sufferer
sat meekly and heard it all, and
waited for the appropriate time when
an answer might be returned. U Jind
they arc crushed in the gate. The
gate of a city in ancient times was
the chief place of concourse, and was
the place where public business was
usually transacted, and where courts
of justice were held. See Gen.
xxiii. 10. Deut. xxi. 19, xxv. 6, 7.
Ruth iv. 1, seq. Ps. cxxvii. 5. Prov.
xxii. 22. The Greeks also held their
courts in some public place of busi-
ness. Hence the forum, ayn^a, was
also a place for fairs. See Jahn's
. Archaeology, § 247. Some suppose
that the meaning here is, that they
were oppressed and trodden down by
the concourse in the gate. But the
more probable meaning is, that they
found no one to advocate their cause;
that they were subject to oppression
and injustice in judicial decisions;
and that when their parent was
dead, no one would stand up to
vindicate them from respect to his
memory. The idea is, that though
there might be temporary pros-
perity, yet that it would not be
I long before heavy calamities would
% come upon the chiWrcn of the
wicked.

5, Whose harvest the hungry eateth
up. That is, they are not permitted
to enjoy the avails of their own labor.
The harvest field is subject to the de-
predations of others, who contrive to
possess themselves of it, and to con-
Bume it. IT And taketh it even out of

of the thorns, and the robber
swalloweth up their substance.

the thorns. Or, he seizes it to the
very thorns. That is, the famished
robber seizes the whole of the har-
vest. He takes it all away, even to
the thistles, and chaff, and cockle,
and whatever impure substances there
may be growing with the grain. He
does not wait to separate the grain
from the other substances, but con-
sumes it all. He spares nothing.
H And the robber sicalloweth up their
substance. Noyes renders this, as
Gesenius proposes to do, " and a
snare gapeth after his substance ;"
Dr. Good, " and rigidly swoopeth up
their substance." Rosenmuller much
better,

Cujusque facultates exhauriebant sitibundi,

copying exactly the version of Cas-
tellio. The Vulgate in a similar
manner, Et bibent sitientes divitias
ejus — And the thirsty drink up his
wealth. The LXX, ixmrponuoO^iij
dvrdiv T] loX^k — should their poicer he
absorbed. The true sense, as I con-
ceive, is, ' the thirsty gasp, or pant,
after their wealth ;' that is, they
consume it. The word rendered in
our common version "the robber"
(CiJSS) is, according to the ancient
versions, the same as D'^X^it, the
thirsty., and this sense the parallelism
certainly requires. So obvious is
this, that it is better to suppose a slight
error in the Hebrew text, than to give
it the signification of a "snare," as
Noyes does, and as Gesenius (Lex.)
proposes. The word rendered

" swalloweth up" (h^^) means,
properly, to breathe hard, to pant, to
blow ; and then to yawn after, to
desire, to absorb ; and the sense here
is, that the thirsty consume their
property. The whole figure is taken
from robbers and freebooters; and I
have no doubt that Eliphaz meant
impliedly to allude to the case of Job,
and to say that he had known just
such cases, where, though there waa
great temporary prosperity, yet beforo

84

JOB.

6 Although ^ affliction cometh
not forth of the dust, neither
doth trouble spring out of the
ground ;

1 or, iniquity.'

long the children of the man who
was prospered, and who professed to
be pious, but was not, were crushed,
and his property taken away by rob-
bers. It was this similarity of the
case of Job to the facts which he had
observed, that staggered him so much
in regard to liis character.

6. .^'though affliction cometh not
forth of the dust. Marg. or iniquity.
The marginal reading here has been
inserted 'from the diflerent meanings
attached to the Hebrew word. That
word ("1^) properly means nothing-
ness, or vanity ; then nothingness as
to worth, uaworthiness, wickedness,
iniquity ; and then the consequences
of iniquitv — adversity, calamity, af-
fliction. "Ps. Iv. 4. Prov. xxii. 8.
Ps. xc. 10. Job XV. 35. The LXX
render it y.orcoq, labor, or trouble.
The Vulgate, jXihii in terra, sine cau-
sa— ' there is nothing on the earth
without a cause.' The general sense
is plain. It is, that afflictions are not
to be ascribed :;o chance, or that they
are not without intelligent design.
They do not come up like thistles,
l)rambles, and thorns, from the un-
conscious earth. They have a cause.
They are under the direction of God.
The object of Eliphaz in the state-
ment is, to show to Job that it was
improper to murmur, and that he
should commit his cause to a God of
infinite power and wisdom. Ver. 8,
seq. Afflictions, Eliphaz says, could
not be avoided. Man was born unto
them. He ought to expect them, and
when they come, they should be sub-
mitted to as ordered by an intelligent,
wise, and good Being. This is 07ie
true ground of consolation in afliic-
tions. They do not come from the
unconscious earth : they do not spring
up of themselves. Though it is true
that man is born to them, and must
expect them, yet it is also true that

7 Yet " man is born unto
^ trouble, as the ^ sparks fly up-
ward.

a 1 Co. 10. 13 2 or, labo^ir.

3 sons of the burning coal lift up to fly.

they are ordered in infinite wihdom,
and that tliey always have a design.
^ J\'either doth trouble spring out of
the ground. The LXX render this,
"Nor will affliction spring up from
the mountains."

7. Yet 7nan is born %into trouble.
All this is connected with the senti-
ment in ver. 8, seq. The meaning
is, that ' since afflictions are ordered
by an intelligent Being, and since
man is born unto trouble as the sparks
fly upward, therefore it is wise to
commit our cause to God, and not to
murmur against him.' Marg. or labor.
The word here i^'i-i) rather means
trouble, or affliction, than labor. The
sense is, that as certainly as man is
born, so sure is it that he will have
trouble. It follows from the condi-
tion of our being, as certainly as that
unconscious objects will follow the
laws of their nature — that sparks will
ascend. This seems to have a pro-
verbial cast, and was doubtless regard-
ed as a sentiment universally true.
It is as true now as it was then ; for
it is still the great law of our being,
that trouble as certainly comes soon-
er or later, as that material objects
obey the laws of nature which God
has impressed on them. IF As the
sparks fly tqncard. The Hebrew
expression here is very beautiful — ' as
iTjuJ"! "'D!! — the sons of flame fly.' The
word used (^'■^."l) means flame, light-
ning ; the sons, or children of the
flame, are that which it produces ;
i. e. sparks. Gesenius strangely ren-
ders it, '■^ sons of the lightning ; i. e.
birds of prey which fly as swift as the
lightning."' So Dr. Good, "As the
bird-tribes are ixade to fly upwards."
So Umbreit renders it, Glcichwiedie
Brut des Raubgeflilgels sich hoch in
Fluge hcbt — 'as a flock of birds ol
prey elevate themselves on the wing.'

CHAPTER V.

85

8 I would seek unto God,
and unto God would I commit
my cause J

Noyes adopts the construction of Ge-
seriius ; partly on tlie principle that
man would be more likely to be com-
pared to birds, living creatures, than
to sparks. There is considerable va-
riety in the interpretation of the pas-
sage. The LXX render it, v^noom
df yvTCnq — the ijoung of the vulture.
The Ghaldee, ^p;^^^. ^?.^— the sons of
demons. Syriac, Sojis of birds. Je-
rome, IMan is born to labor, (aid the
bird to flight — et avis ad volattim.
Schultens renders it, " glittering jav-
elins ;" and Arius Moiitanus, "sons
of the live coal." It seems to me
that our common version has express-
ed the true meaning. But the idea
is not essentially varied whichever
interpretation is adopted. It is, that
as sparks ascend, or as birds fly up-
ward— following the laws of their
being — so is trouble the lot of man.
It certainly comes ; and comes under
the direction of a Being who has fixed
the laws of the inferior creation. It
would be wise for man, therefore, to
resign himself to God in the times
when those troubles come. He should
not sit down and murmur at this con-
dition of things, but should submit to
it as the law of his being, and should
have suflicient confidence in God to
believe that he orders it aright.

8. I vwuld seek unto God. Our trans-
lators have omitted here the adversa-
tive particle D^'^^, but, yet, neverthe-
less, and have thus marred the con-
nection. The meaning of Eliphaz, I
take to be, ' that since aflliction
is ordered by an intelligent Being,
and does not spring out of the ground,
therefore he would commit his cause
to God, and look to him.' Jerome
has well expressed it, Quam ob rem
ego deprecabor Domimim. Some
have understood this as meaning that
Eliphaz himself was in the habit of
committing his cause to God, and that
he exhorted Job to imitate his exarn-
10

9 Which doeth great things
and ' unsearchable ; marvellous
things '^ without number :

1 there is no search. 2 till there be no number.

pie. But the correct sense is that
which regards it as counsel given to
Job to look to God because afilictions
are the result of intelligent design,
and because God had shown himself
to be worthy of the confidence of
men. The latter point Eliphaz pro-
ceeds to argue in the following verses.
9. IVhich doeth great tilings. The
object of this is, to show why Job
should commit his cause to God. The
reason suggested is, that he had
showed himself qualified to govern
the w^orld by the great and wonderful
acts whicli he performed. Eliphaz,
therefore, proceeds to expatiate on
what God had done, and thus states
the ancient belief in regard to his
sovereignty over the -world. This
strain of reasoning continues to the
end of the chapter. There is great
beauty and force in it; and though
we have, through the revelations of
the New Testament, some more en-
larged views of the government of
God and of the design of affliction,
yet perhaps there can be found no-
where a more beautiful argument to
lead men to put confidence in God.
The reason here stated is, that God
does " great things," and, therefore,
we should commit ourselves to him.
His works are vast and boundless;
they are such as to impress the mind
with a sense of his own immensity ;
and in such a being we should con-
fide rather than in a feeble creature's
arm. Who, when he contemplates
the vast universe which God has
made, and surveys the starry world
under the liglit of the modern astro-
nomy, can doubt that God does " great
things," and that the interests which
we commit to him are safe .'' IT And
^insearchable. Marg. " There is iio
search." Sept. avf^r/v(aara — whose
footsteps cannot be traced. The
Hebrew word C"!?."!?) means search-
ing out or examining; and the idea

86

JOB.

is here, that it is impossible fully to
search out and comprehend what God
does. See ch. xi. 7. This is stated
as a reason why we should look to
him. We should expect things in
his administration which we cannot
understand. The argument of Eliphaz
seems to be, that it was a matter of
indisputable fact that there are many
things in the government of God
which are above our comprehension ;
and when he afflicts us, we should
feel that this is a part of the doings
of the incomprehensible God. Such
mysterious dealings are to be expect-
ed, and they should not be allowed
for a moment to shake our confidence
in him. IT Marvellous tilings. Things
that are wonderful, and are fitted to
excite amazement. See Notes on
Isa. ix. 6. IT Without number. Marg.
" Till there be no number." The
sense is, that it is impossible to esti-
mate the number of those things in
the universe over which he presides,
which are adapted to excite admira
tion. If the view of the universe
entertained in the time of Eliphaz
was fitted to overwhelm the mind
by its vastness and by the number
of the objects which were created,
this astonishment is much greater
now that the telescope has dis-
closed the wonders of the heavens
above to man, and the microscope the
not less amazing w^onders of the world
beneath him. Leuwenhoeck, by the
aid of the mjcroscope, discovered, he
supposed, a thousand million animal-
cule, whose united bulk did not ex-
ceed the size of a grain of sand — all
of whom are distinct Ibrmations, with
all the array of functions necessary to
life. O^ ihQ number Q.\so of the larger
works of God, much interesting and
overpowering truth is presented by
the science of modern astronomy.
As an instance of this, we may refer
to the Milky JVay, or the whitish, ir-
regular zone, that goes round the
whole heavens, and that can be seen
at any season of the year, but particu-
larly in the montlis of August, Sep-
tember, and November. " This vast
portion of the heavens is found to con-

sist wholly of stars, crowded into im-
mense clusters. On first presenting a
telescope of considerable power to this
splendid zone, we are lost in aston-
ishment at the number, the variety,
and the beautiful configuration of the
stars of which it is com.posed. In
certain parts of it, every slight mo-
tion of the telescope presents new
groups and new configurations ; and
the new and wondrous scene is con-
tinued over a space of many degrees
in succession. In several fields of
view, occupying a space of not more
than twice the breadth of the moon,
you perceive more of these twinkling
luminaries, than all the stars visible
to the naked eye throughout the
whole canopy of heaven. The late
Sir W. Herschel, in passing his tele-
scope along a space of this zone fif-
teen degrees long, and two broad,
descried at least fifty thousand stars,
large enough to be distinctly counted ;
besides which, he suspected twice as
many more, which could be seen
only now and then by faint glimpses
for want of sufficient light; that is,
fifty times more than the acutest eye
can discern in the whole heavens
during the clearest night ; and the
space which they occupy is only the
one thousand three hundred and
seventy-fifth part of the visible canopy
of the sky. On another occasion this
astronomer perceived nearly six hun-
dred stars in o7ie field of view of his te-
lescope ; so that in tlie space of a quar-
ter of an hour, one hundred and sixteen
thousand stars passed in review be-
fore him. Now, were we to suppose
every part of this zone equally filled
with stars as the places now alluded
to, there would be found in the
Milky Way alone, no less than twenty
ujillions one hundred and ninety
thousand stars. In regard to the
distance of some of these stars, it
has been ascertained that some of
the more remote are not less than
five hundred times the distance of
the nearest fixed star, or nearly two
thousand billions of miles ; a dis-
tance so great, that light., Avhich flies
at the rate of twelve millions of milea

CHAPTER V.

87

10 Who giveth rain upon the

earth, and sendeth waters upon
the ' fields :

every Hiinute, would require one
thousand six hundred and forty years
before it could traverse this mighty
Interval ! The Milky Way is now^,
witli good reason, considered to be
the cluster of stars in which our-sun
is situated ; and all the stars visi-
ble to the naked eye are only a few
scattered orbs near the extremity of
this cluster. Yet there is reason also
to believe that the Milky Way, of
which our system forms a part, is no
more than a single nebula^ of which
several thousands have already been
discovered, which compose the uni-
verse ; and that it bears no more
proportion to the whole siderial
heavens than a small dusky speck
whicli our telescopes enable us to
descry in the heavens. T/treg thou-
sand ncbuIcB have already been dis-
covered. Suppose the number of
stars in the whole P»Iilky Way to be
no more than ten millions, and that
each of the nebulce, at an average,
contains the same number; supposing
further, that only two thousand of the
three thousand nebulae are resolvable
into stars, and that tlie other thousand
are masses of a shining fluid, not yet
condensed by the Almighty into
luminous globes, the number of stars
or suns comprehended in that portion
of the firmament which is within the
reach of our telescopes, is tioeniij
thousand miUlons.'' Yet all this may
be as notliing compared with the parts
of the universe which we are unaide to
discover. See in the Christian Keep-
sake for 1840, an article by Tliomas
Dick, entitled " An Idea of the Uni-
verse." Comp Notes on ch. ix. 9.

10. Who giveth rain upon the earth.
In the previous verse, Eliphaz iiad
said, in general, that God did wonder-
ful things — tilings which are fitted to
lead us to put our trust in him. In
this and the succeeding verses, he
descends to paiticulars, and spcci-

11 To set up on high those
that be low ; that those which
mourn may be exalted to safety.

fies those things which show that
God is worthy to be confided in.
This enunciation continues to ver.
16, and the general scope is, that the
agency of God is seen everywhere ;
and that his providential dealings are
adapted to impress man with elevated
ideas of his justice and goodness.
Eliphaz begins with the rain^nwA says
that the fact that God sends it upon
the earth w'as fitted to lead man to
confide in him. He means, that
while the sun, and moon, and seasons
have stated times, and are governed
by settled laws, the rain seems to be
sent directly by God, and is imparted
at such times as are best. It is wholly
under his control, and furnishes a
constant evidence of his benevolence.
Without it, every vegetable would
dry up, and every animal on the
earth would soon die. The word
earth here refers probably to the cul-
tivated part of the earth — the fields
that are under tillage. Thus Eich-
horn renders it, Angebauten Feldern.
On the interest which the phenomena
of rain excited among the ancient
sages of Idumea, and the laws by
which it is produced, sec Notes on
clis. xxxvii. 6, 15, 16, xxxviii. 22-28.
IT And sendeth waters. That is,
showers. H Upon the fields. Marg.
out-places. Heb. ryil^r\—out of
doors, outside, abroad, meaning the
fields out of cities and towns. Eich-
horn renders it, "the pastures,"
avf Triften. The meaning is, that
the whole country is watered; and
the fact that God gives rain in this
manner, is a reason why we should
put confidence in him. It shows that
he is a benevolent Being, since it
contributes so essentially to h;iman
life and happiness, and since no other
being but God can cause it.

11. To set up on high. That is,
who sets up on high ; or God exalts
those who arc low. From the works

88

JOB

12 He " disappointeth the de-
vices of the crafty, so that their

a Ne. 4, 15.

of nature, Eliphaz pawses to the deal-
ings of God with men^ as designed to
show that lie was worthy of confi-
dence. The first proof is, that he
showed himself to he the friend of the
humble and the afflicted, and often
exalted those who were in lowly cir-
cumstances, in a manner which
evinced his direct interposition. It is
to be remembered here, that Eliphaz
is detailing the result of his own
observation, and stating the reasons
which he had obsorved for putting
confidence in God ; and the meaning
here is, that he had so often seen this
done as to show that God was the
friend of the humble and the poor.
This sentiment was afterward.s ex-
pressed with great beauty by INFary,
the mother of the Lord Jesus :
lie hath put down the mighty from their seats,
And exalted them of low degree ;
He hath filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich he hath sent empty away.

Luke i. 52, 53.
IT That those tchich mourji may be
exacted to safety. Or rather, they
who mourn are exalted to a place of
safety. The sense is, that God did
this ; and that, therefore, there was
ground of confidence in him. The
word rendered, ' those wliich mourn '
(D'^'n'lp) is from "('li^, to be turbid or
foul as a torrent. Job vi. 16 ; hence
to go about in filthy garments, like
mourners, to mourn. The general
sense of the Hebrew word, as in Ara-
bic, is to be squalid, dark, filthy,
dusky, obscure ; and hence it denotes
those who are afflicted, whicli is its
sense here. The LXX render it,
(XTToXodnTaq, the lost, or those who
are perished. The sense is plain.
God raises up the bowed down, the
oppressed, and the afflicted. Eliphaz
undoubtedly referred to instances
which had come under his own
observation, when persons who had
been in very depressed circumstan-
ces, had been raised up to situations
of comfort, honor, and safety ; and

Is cannot perform their^ en-
terprise.

hands

1 or, ciny thin^

that in a manner which was a mani-
fest interposition of his Providence.
From this lie argued that those who
were in circumstances of great trial,
should put their trust in him. Cases
of this kind often occur ; and a care-
ful observation of the dealings of
God with tlie afflicted, would un-
doubtedly furnish materials for an
argument like that on which Eliphaz
relied in this instance.

12. He disappointeth the devices of
the crafty. He foils them in their
schemes, or makes their plans vain.
This too was the result of close obser
vation on the part of Eliphaz. He
had seen instances where the plans
of crafty, designing, and artful men
had been defeated, and where the
straight-forward had been prospered
and honored. Such cases led liim to
believe that God was the friend of
virtue, and was worthy of entire
confidence. II So that their hands.
So that they. The hands are the
instruments by which v\'e accomplish
our plans, fl Their eyiierprise. Marg.
Or, ajiy thing. Heb. n^d^lS. This
word properly means tqyrightness,
from i^^"^ ; then help, deliverance,
Job vi. 13^ then purpose, undertak-
ing, enterprise, i. e. what one wishes
to set up or establish. Gesenius.
This is its meaning here. Vulg.
' Their hands cannot finish (implere)
v/hat they had begun.' Sept. ' Their
hands cannot perform that which is
true ' — d).t]&f:'q. The Chaldee Para-
phrase refers this to the deft.'at of the
purposes of the Egyptians : " Who
made vain the thoughts of the Egyp-
tians, who acted wisely [or cunning-
ly— ilTS'^Snn] that they might do evil
to Israel, but their hands did not per-
form the work of their wisdom (ver
13),who took the wise men of Phaiaoh
in their own wisdom, and the counsel
of their perverse astrologers he made
to return upon them." The general

CHAPTER V.

89

18 He " taketh the wise in
their own craftiness ; and the

a 1 Co. 3. 19.

sense is, that artful and designing
men — men who work in the dark,
and wlio form secret purposes of evil,
are disappointed and foiled. Eliphaz
probably had seen instances of this,
and he now attributes it to God as
rendering him worthy of tlie confi-
dence of men. It is still true. The
crafty and the designing are often
foiled in such a manner as to show
that it is wholly of God. He exposes
their designs in this way, and siiows
that lie is tlie friend of tiie sincere
and the honest ; and in doing this,
he shows that he is worthy the confi-
dence of his people.

13. He taketh the wise in their own
craftiness. This passage is (juotcd
by the ap')stle Paul in 1 Cor. lii. 3 9,
witli tiie usual formula in referring
to the Old Testament, yr/oaTTTai
ycio, "for it is written," showing
that he regarded it as a part of the
inspired oracles of God. The word
wise here undoubtedly means the
cunning, tlie astute, the crafty, and
the designing. It cannot mean those
who are truly wise in the Scripture
sense ; but the meaning is, that those
who form plans which they expect
to accomplish by cunning and craft,
are often the victims of their own
designs. The same sentiment not
unfrequently occurs in the Scriptures
and elsewhere, and has all the aspect
of being a proverb. Thus in Ps.
vii. 15 :

He made a pit and digged it,

And is fallen into the ditch which he made.

SoPs. ix. 15:

The heathen are sunk down into the pit that

they made ;
[n the net which the}' hid is their own foot

taken.

So Pj. XXXV. 8 •

Lot his net that he hath hid catch himself ;
Into that very destruction let him fall.

So Ps.xxxvii. 15:

Their sword shall enter into their own heait.
And ihoir bow shall be broken.

Comp. Eurip. Med. 409 •

counsel of the froward is carried
headlonop.

See also the same sentiment in Lucre-
tius, V. 1151 :

Circumretit enim vi.?, aKjuo injuria! quemque
Atquo undo exorta est, ad eum plerumque re-
vertit.

" For force and rapine in their craftiest nets
Oft I heir own sons entangle ; and the plague
Ten-fold recoils."

It is to be remembered that Eliphaz
here speaks of his own observation,
and of that as a reason for putting
confidence in God. The sentiment
is, that he had observed that a straight-
forward, honest, and upright course,
was followed with the divine favor
and blessing; but that a man who
attempted to carry his plans by in-
trigue and stratagem, would not be
permanently successful. Sooner or
later his cunning would recoil upon
himself, and he would experience the
disastrous consequences of such a
course. It is still true. A man is
always sure of ultimate success and
prosperity, if he is straight-forward
and honest. He never can be sure of
it, if he attempts to carry his plans by-
management. Other men may evince
as much cunning as himself; and
when his net springs., it may include
himself as well as those for whom he
set it. It will be well for him if it is
not made to spring on him, while
others escape. *\\ And the counsel of
the froward. The design of the per-
verse. The word here rendered
"froward," C^^^Si, is from br3,
t<i twist, to twine, to spin. It then
means, to be twisted, crooked, crafty,
deceitful. Here it means those who
are crooked, artful, designing. Sept.
7To).v 7x16x0)1'., the involved — the much-
entangled. IT Is carried headlong.
Heb. is precipitated, or hastened.
There is not time for it to be matured ;
there is a development of the scheme
before it is ripe, and the trick i.s de-
tected before there is time to put it in
execution. Nothing can be more

90

JOB.

14 They ' meet with darkness
in the day-time, and grope in
the noon-day as in the night.

15 But " he saveth the poor

1 or, 7-wn into, Is. 59. JO. Am. 8.9.

true than this often is now. Some-
thing that could not be anticipated
develops the design, and brings the
dark plot out to mid-day; and God
shows that he is the foe of all such
schemes.

14. They meet iclth darkness in the
day-time. Rlarg. run into. Comp.
Notes on Isa. lix. 10. The sense is,
ihat where there is really no obstacle
to the accomplishment of an honest
plan — any more than there is for a
man to walk in the day-time — they
become perplexed and embarrassed,
as much as a man would be, should
sudden darkness come around him at
mid-day. The same sentiment occurs
in ch. xii. 25. A life of honesty and
uprightness will be attended with
prosperity, but a man who attempts
to carry his plans by trick and art,
will meet with unexpected embar-
rassments. The sentiment in all
these expressions is, that God embar-
rasses the cunning, the crafty, and
the artful, but gives success to those
who are upright ; and that, therefore,
he is worthy of confidence.

15. But lie saveth the poor from the
sioord. He shows himself to be the
friend and protector of the defence-
less. The phrase " from the sword,
from their mouth," has been various-
ly interpreted. Dr. Good renders it,

So he saveth the persecutors from their mouth,
And the helpless from the hand of the violent.

Noyes,

So he saveth the persecuted from their mouth,
The oppressed from the hand of the mighty.

This rendering is obtained by chang-
ing the points in the word ^S^jnP,
from the sword, to ^"^n^, making it
the Hophal participle from ^^nn, to
make desolate. This was proposed
by Capellus, and has been adopted
by Durell, Michaclis, Dathe, Doe-
derlin, and others. RoscnmUller pro-

from the sword, from their mouth,

and from the hand of the mighty.

IG So the poor hath hope,

and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.

a Ps. 107. 41.

nounces it wholly unauthorized. Je-
rome renders it, a gladlo oris eorum
— 'from the sword of their mouth.'
It seems to me that the whole verse
may be literally rendered, ' he saveth
from the sword, from their mouth,
and from the hand of the strong, the
poor.' According to this version, the
phrase ' from their mouth ' may either
mean from the mouth, i. e. the edge
of the sword, using the plural for the
singular, or from the mouth of oppres-
sors, using it to represent their vio-
lence, and their disposition to devour
the poor. The latter is more proba-
bly the true interpretation, and there
is no need of a change in the points
in the Hebrew. Thus interpreted,
the sense is, that God preserves tlie
poor from oppression ; or, in other
word.'^, that he befriends them, and is
therefore worthy of confidence. This
sentiment accords with what is found
everywhere in the Bible.

16. So the poor hath hope. From
the interposition of God. They are
not left in a sad and comfortless con-
dition. They are permitted to regard
God as their protector and friend, and
to look forward to another and a bet-
ter world. This sentiment accords
with all that is elsewhere said in the
Scriptures, that the offers of mercy
are specially made to the poor, and
that they are peculiarly the objects of
the divine compassion. IT And, ini-
quity stoppeth her mouth. That is,
the wicked are confounded when
they see all their plans foiled, and
find themselves entangled in the
snares which they have laid for
others. A similar sentiment occurs
in Ps. cvii. 41, 42-

Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction,
And maketh him families like a flock.
TJie righteous shall see it and rejoice,
And all iniquity shall stop her mouth.

It is to be remembered that Eliphaz
states this as the result of his own

CHAPTER V.

91

17 Behold, happy "is the man
whom God correcteth ; therefore

a He. 12. 5. Ja. 1. 12.

observation, and as clearly demon-
strating ill his view that there is a
superintending and overruling Provi-
dence. A careful observation of the
course of events would lead undoubt-
edly to the same conclusion, and this
has been embodied in almost every
language by some proverbial senti-
ment. We express it by saying that
" honesty is tlie best policy ;" a pro-
verb that is undoubtedly founded in
v.'isdoni. The sentiment is, that if a
man wishes long to prosper, he should
pursue a straightforward and an hon-
est course ; that cunning, intrigue, un-
derhanded dealing, and mere manage-
ment, will sooner or later defeat it-
self, and recoil on the head of him
who uses it ; and that, therefore, if
there were no higher motive than
self-interest, a man should be honest,
frank, and open. See this argument
stated at~ greater length, and with
great beauty, in Psalm xxxvii.

17. Behold^ happy is the man whom
God correcteth. This verse com-
mences a new argument, designed to
show that afllictions are followed by
so important advantages as to make
it proper that we should submit to
them without a murmur. The senti-
ment in this verse, if not expressly
quoted, is probably alluded to by the
Apostle Paul in Heb. xii. 5. The
same thought frequently occurs in
the Bible. See James i. 12. Prov.
iii. 11, 12. The sense is plain, that
God confers a favor on us when he
recalls us from our sins by the cor-
rections of his paternal hand — as a
father confers a favor on a child
whom he restrains from sin by suitable
correction. The icaij in which this
is done, Eliphaz proceeds to state at
length. He does it in most beautiful
language, and in a manner entirely
in accordance with the sentiments
which occur elsewhere in the Bible.
The word rendered correcteth ('"'5'^)
means to argue, convince, reprove,

despise not thou the chastening
of the Almighty.

punish, and to judge. It here refers
to any of the modes by which God
calls men from their sins, and leads
them to walk in the paths of virtue.
The word " happy" here, means
that the condition of such an one is
blessed C^"!^^) ; Gr. juaxctQioq — not
that there is happiness in the suffering.
The sense is, that it is a favor when
God recalls his friends from their
wanderings, and from the error of
their ways, rather than to suffer them
to go on to ruin. He does me a
kindness who shows me a precipice
down which I am in danger of fall-
ing; he lays me under obligation to
him who even with violence saves
me from flames which would devour
ijie. Eliphaz undoubtedly means to
be understood as implying that Job
had been guilty of transgression, and
that God had taken this method to
recall him from the error of his ways.
That he had sinned, and that these
calamities had come as a consequence,
he seems never once to doubt; yet he
supposes that the affliction was meant
in kindness, and proceeds to state
that if Job would receive it in a
proper manner, it might be attended
still with important benefits. M There-
fore despise not thou the chastening
of the Almighty. 'Do not regret

(^>\?^^), Sept. {.17] anoLvaCvov — the
means which God is using to admon-
ish you.' There is direct allusion
here undoubtedly to the feelings
which Job had manifested (ch. iii.) ;
and the object of Eliphaz is, to show
him that there were important bene-
fits to be derived from affliction which
should make him willing to bear it
without murmuring. Job had exh'
bited, as Eliphaz thought, a disposi-
tion to reject the lessons which
afflictions were designed to teach
him, and to spurn the admonitions of
the Almighty. From that state of
mind he would recall him, and would
impress on him the truth that there

92

JOB.

18 For '^ he maketb sore, and
bindeth up ; he woundeth, and
his hands make whole.

19 He '' shall deliver thee in

a De. 32. 39. h Vs. 91. c Ps. 37. 19. 1 liamh.

were such advantages to be derived
from those afilictions as should make
him willing to endure all that wa^
laid upon him without a murmur.

18. For he maketh sore. That is,
he afflicts. II And bindeth up. He
heals. The phrase is taken from the
custom of binding up a wound. See
Notes on Isa. i. 6. xxxviii. 21. This
was a common mode of healing
among the Hebrews ; and the practice
of medicine appears to have been con-
fined much to external applications.
The meaning of this verse is, that
afflictions come from God, and that
he only can support, comfort, and
restore. Health is his gift; and all
the consolation which we need, and
for which we can look, must come
from him.

19. He shall deliver thee in six
troubles. Six is used here to denote
an indefinite number, meaning that
he would support in incuiy troubles.
This mode of speech is not uncom-
mon among the Hebrews, where one
number is mentioned, so that an
extreme number may be immediately
added. The method is, to mention a
number within the limit, and then to
add one more, meaning that in all
instances the thing referred to would
occur. The limit here is seven, with
the Hebrews a complete and perfect
number; and the idea is, that in any
succession of troubles, however nu-
merous, God was able to deliver.
Similar expressions not unfrequently
occur. Thus in Amos i. 3, 6, 9, 11,
1.3, ii. 1, 4, 6 :

Thus saith the Lord : [four.

For three transgressions of Damascus, and for
I will not turn away the punishment thereof.

Thus saith the Lord :
For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four,
I will not turn away the punishment thereof.

Thus saith the Lord :
For three transgressions orTyrus,and for four,
I will not turn away the punishment thereof.

six troubles ; yea, in seven there
shall no evil touch thee.

20 In famine '"he shall redeem
thee from death ; and in war
I from the ' power of the sword.

Thus in Prov. xxx. 15 :

There are three things that are never satisfic'lj

Yea, four things say not, It is enough.

Thcie he three things that are too wonderful

for me,
Yea, four, which I know not. Ver 18.

For three things the earth is disquieted,
And for four which it cannot bear. Ver. 21.

There be three things that go well,
Yea, four are comely in going ;
A lion, which is strongest among beasts.
And turneth not away for any ;
A grey-hound ;
An he-goat also ;

And a king, against whom there is no rising up.
Vs. 29-31.

Comp. Homer, Iliad vi. 174 :

'Evl'n|J^ap ^eiviaas kuI evvea [ivvi upevaiv.

An enumeration, in regard to number,
similar to the one before us, occurs
in Prov. vi. 16 :

These six things doth the Lord hate ;
Yea, seven are an abomination to him.

IT There shall no evil touch thee. That
is, permanently ; for he could not
mean that he would not be subjected
to calamity at all, since by the very
supposition he was a sufferer. But
the sense is, that God would save
from those calamities.

20. In famine lie shall redeem thee.
That is, will deliver thee from death.
On the meaning of the word rcdeein,
see Notes on Isaiah, ch. xiiii. 1, 3.
IT From thepoicer of the stoord. Marg.
as in Heb. hands. That is, he should
not be slain by armed men. A mouth
is often attributed to the sword in the
Scriptures, because it devours; hands
are attributed to it here, because it is
by the hand that we perform an
undertaking, and the sword is per-
sonified, and represented as acting
as a conscious agent. Comp. Ezek.
XXXV. 5. margin. The meaning is,
that God would protect those who
put their trust in him, in times oi
calamity and war. Doubtless Eliphaz

CHAPTER V.

93

21 Thou shalt be hid ' from
the scourge of the tongue ; " nei-
ther shalt thou be afraid of de-
struction when it cometh.

1 or, when the tongue scourgcth.

had seen instances enough of this
kind to lead him to this general con-
clusion, where the pious poor had
been protected in a remarkable man-
ner, and where signal deliverances
had been vouchsafed to the righteous
in danger.

21. Tkou shalt he hid from the
scourge of the tongue. Marg. Or,
ichen the tongue scourgeth. The word
rendered " scourge " — 12'\'0 — means
properly a whip. It is used of God
when he scourges men by calamities
and punishments, Isa. x. 26. Job ix.
23. See the use of the verb ^^^ in
ch. i. 7. Here it is used to denote a
slanderous tongue, as being that
which inflicts a severe wound upon
the reputation and peace of an indi-
vidual. The idea is, that God would
guard the reputation of those who
commit tiiemselves to him, and that
they shall be secure from slander^
" whose breath," Shakspeare says,
" outvenoms all the worms of Nile."
11 Xcither shalt thou he afraid ichen
destruction cometh. That is, your
mind shall be calm in those calamities
which threaten destruction. When
war rages, when the tempest howls,
when the pestilence breathes upon a
community, then your mind shall be
at peace. A similar thought occurs
in Isa. xxvi. 3 : " Thou wilt keep
him in perfect peace whose mind is
stayed on thee ;" and the same sen-
timent is beautifully illustrated at
length in the XCIst Psalm. The
Chaldee Paraphrase applies all this
to events which had occurred in the
history of the Hebrews. Thus ver.
20: "In the famine in Egypt, he
redeemed thee from death ; and in
the war with Amalek, from being
slain by the sword." Ver. 21 : " In
:he injury inflicted by the tongue of
Balaam thou wert hid among the
clouds, and thou didst not fear from

22 At destruction and famine
thou shalt laugh : neither shalt
thou be afraid of the beasts of
the earth.

a Ps. 31. 20.

the desolation of the Midianites when
it came." Ver. 22: " In the desolation
of Sihon, and in the famine of the
desert, thou didst laugh ; and of the
camps of Og, who was like a wild
beast of the earth, thou wert not
afraid."

22. At destruction and famine thou
shalt laugh. That is, thou shalt be
perfectly safe and happy. They shall
not come upon thee ; and when they
approach with threatening aspect,
thou shalt smile with conscious
security. The word here rendered
famine (l^^) is an unusual word, and
differs from that occurring in ver. 20,
^SJ'I. This word is derived from "(33
— to languish, to pine from hunger
and thirst. It then means the lan-
guid and feeble state which exists
where there is a want of proper nutri-
ment. A sentiment similar to that
which is here expressed occurs in
Martial, iv. 19. 4

Ridebis ventos hoc munere tectu.s, et inibies.
M JYeither shalt thou he afraid of the
beasts of the earth. Wild beasts in
new countries are always objects of
dread, and in the fastnesses and
deserts of Arabia, they were espe-
cially so. 'They abounded there;
and one of the highest images of
happiness there would be, that there
would be perfect safety from them.
A similar promise occurs in Ps.
xci. 13 :

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder ;
The young lion and the dragon shalt thou
trample under foot.

And a promise similar to this was
made by the Saviour to his disciples :
" They shall take up serpents ; and if
they drink any deadly thing, it shall
not hurt them." The sentiment of
Eliphaz is, that they who put their
trust in God would find protection,
and have the consciousness that they
were secure wherever they were.

D4

JOB.

23 For thou shalt be in league
with the stones of the field ; and
the beasts " of the field shall be
at peace with thee.

a Is. 11.9.

23. For thou shalt be in league icith
the stones of the field. In the Hebrew,
'* There shall be a covenant between
thee and the stones of the field."
The sense is, they shall not harm
thee. They are here spoken of as
enemies that were made to be at
peace, and that would nut annoy or
injure. It is to be remembered that
this was spoken in Arabia, where
rocks and stones abounded, and where
travelling, from that cause, was diffi-
cult and dangerous. The sense here
is, as I understand it, that he would
be permitted to make his way in ease
and safety. Tindal renders it :

But the castels in the land shall be confederate

with thee ;
The heastes of the fealde shall give thee peace.

Some have supposed that the mean-
ing is, that the land would be free
from stones that rendered it barren,
and would be rendered fertile if the
favor of God was sought. Shaw, in
his Travels, supposes that it refers to
the custom of walking over stones, in
which the feet are liable to be injured
every moment, and that the meaning
is, that that danger would be averted
by the divine interposition. By others
it has been conjectured that the allu-
sion is to a custom which is known as
skopelism, of which Egmont and
Heyman (Reisen, II. Th. S. 156), give
the following account : " that in Ara-
bia, if any one is living at variance
with another, he places on his land
stones as a warning that no one should
dare to plow it, as by doing it he
would expose himself to the danger
of being punished by him who had
placed the stones there." This cus-
tom is also referred to by Ulpian (L.
ix. de officio Proconsulis), and in the
Greek Pandects, Lib. Ix. Tit. xxii.
Leg. 9. It may be doubted, however,
whether this custom was as early as
the lime of Job, or was so common

24 And thou shalt know ^ that
thy tabernacle shall be in peace ;
and thou shalt visit thy habita-
tion, and shalt not '^ sin.

1 or, that peace is thy tabernacle. 2 or, err.

then as to make it probable that the
allusion is to it. Rosenmiiller sup-
poses the meaning to be, ' Thy field
shall be free from stones, which would
render it unfruitful.' Ahe u. neue
Morgenland, ui loc. Other explana-
tions may be seen in Rosenmiiller
(Commentary), but it seems to me
that the view presented above, that
travelling would be rendered safe and
pleasant, is the true one. Such a
promise would be among the rich
blessings in a country like Arabia.

24. And tliou shall know that thy
tabernacle shall be in peace. Thy
tent — (^^.n^) — showing that it was
common tlien to dwell in tents. The
sense is, that when he was away
from home he would have confidence
that his dwelling was secure, and his
family safe. This would be an assur-
ance producing no smaH' degree of
consolation in a country abounding
in wild beasts and robbers. Such is
the nature of the blessing which Eli-
phaz says the man would have who
put his confidence in God, and com-
mitted his cause to him. To a certain
extent this was, and is, undoubtedly
true. A man cannot indeed have
miraculous assurance when from
home, that liis wife and children are
still alive, and in health; nor can he
be certain tliat his dwelling is not
wrapped in flames, or that it has been
preserved from the intrusion of evii-
minded men. But he may feel assur-
ed that all is under the wise control
of God ; that whatever occurs will be
by h.is permission and direction, and
will tend to ultimate good. He may
also, with calmness and peace, commit
his home with all that is dear to him
to God, and feel that in his hands all
is safe. IT Jiiid thou shalt visit thy
habitation. That is, on the return
from a journey, ^i And not sin. This
is a very unhappy translation. The

CHAPTER V.

95

25 Thou shall know also that
thy seed shall be ^ great, and thine
offspring as the grass of the
earth.

i or, viuch.

true S3iise is, thou slialt not miss thy
dwelling ; thou shalt not wander
away lost, to return no more. The
word here used, and which is rendered
"sin" in our common version, is
Kuin, hhdtd. It is true that it is com-
monly rendered to sin, and that it
often has this sense. But it properly
means to miss ; that is, not to hit the
mark, spoken of an archer, Judges
XX. 16 ; then to make a false step, to
stumble or fall, Prov. xix. 2. It thus
accords exactly in sense with the
Greek aaaoTdro). Here the original
sense of the Hebrew word should be
retained, meaning that he would not
miss the way to his dwelling; that
is, that he would be permitted to re-
turn to it in safety. Gesenius, how-
ever, renders it, " Thou musterest
thy pasture (flocks), and missest
naught :" that is, nothing is gone :
all thy flocks are there. But the more
obvious sense, and a sense which the
connection demands, is that which
refers the whole description to a man
who is on a journey, and who is ex-
posed to the dangers of wild beasts,
and to the perils of a rougli and stony
way, but who is permitted to visit
his home without missing it or being
disappointed. A great variety of
interpretations have been given of the
passage, which may be seen in Rosen-
muller and Good. Many suppose it
means that he should review his
domestic affairs, and find all to his
mind ; or should find that every thing
was in its place, or was as it should
be. It cannot be doubted that the
Hebrew word ^^ visit " ("^i^S) will
bear this interpretation, but that above
proposed seems to me best to suit the
connection. The margin correctly
renders it, en-.

25 Thou shalt know also that thy
seed shall be great. Marg. much.
That is, thy posterity shall be nume.--

26 Thou shait come to tJiy
grave in a full age, " like as a
shock of corn ' cometh in in his

season.

a Pr. 9. 11.

1 ascendeth.

ous. This was one of the blessings
supposed to be connected with the
favor of God. See Notes on Isa. liii.
10. U jind thine offspring as the
grass of the earth. On the meaning
of the word here rendered offspring,
see Notes on Isa. xlviii. 19. Nothing
is more common in the Scriptures,
than to compare a prosperous and a
happy man to a green and flourishing
tree. See Ps. i. 3, xcii. 12-14. The
idea here is, that the righteous would
have a numerous and a happy poster-
ity, and that the divine favor to them
would be shown by the blessing of
God on their children. Comp. Ps
cxxviii. 1, 3.

Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord,

'J'hiit vvalketh in his ways.

Thy wife shall be a fruitful vine by the side of

thine house ;
Thy children like olive-plants round about thy

table.

26. Thou shalt come to thy grave
in full age. That is, thou shalt have
long life ; thou shalt not be cut down
prematurely, nor by any sudden ca-
lamity. It is to be remembered that
long life was regarded as an eminent
blessing in ancient times. See Notes
on Isa. Ixv. 22. f Like as a shock
of corn Cometh in in his season. Marg.
ascendeth. As a sheaf of grain is
harvested when it is fully ripe. This
is a beautiful comparison, and the
meaning is obvious. He would not
be cut off before his plans were fully
matured; before the fruits of right-
eousness had ripened in his life. He
would be taken away when he was
ripe for heaven — as the yellow grain
is for the harvest. Grain is not cut
down when it is green ; and the
meaning of Eliphaz is, that it is as
desirable that man should live to a -
good old age before he is gathered to
his fathers, as it is that grain should
be suffered to stand until it is fulljr
ripe.

96

JOB.

27 Lo this, we have searched '

a Pr. 2. 3-5. 1 thyself. Pr. 9. 12

27. Lo this. All this that I have
said; the truth of all the remarks
which I have made. If We have
searched it. We have by careful
observation of the course of events
come to these conclusions. TJiesc
are our views of the providence of
God, and of the principles of his gov-
ernment, as far as we have had the
opportunity of observing, and they
are well worthy of your attention.
The sentiments in these two chapters
indicate close and accurate observa-
tion ; and if we think that the obser-
vation was not always wholly accu-
rate, or that the principles were car-
ried farther than facts would warrant,
or that Eliphaz applied them with
somewhat undue severity to the case
of Job, we are to remember that this
Avas in the infancy of the world, that
they had few historical records, and
that they had ?io tcritteyi revelation.
If they were favored with occasional
revelations, as Eliphaz claimed (ch.
iv. 12, seq.), yet they were few in
number, and at distant intervals, and
the divine communications pertained
to but few points. Though it may
without impropriety be maintained
that some of the views of Eliphaz and
his friends were not wholly accurate,

it, so it is ; hear it, and knovr
thou it for ' thy good.

yet we may safely ask. Where among
the Greek and Roman sages can
views of the divine government bo
found that equal these in correctness,
or that are expressed with equal force
and beauty ? For profound and accu-
rate observation, for beauty of thought
and sublimity of expression, the sage
of Teman will not fall behind tlie
sages of Athens ; and not the least
interesting thing in the contemplation
of the book of Job, is the comparison
which we are almost of necessity
compelled to make between the obser-
vations on the course of events which
were made in Arabia, and those which
were made by the philosophers of
the ancient heathen world. Is it
improper to suppose that one design
of this book was to show how far the
human mind could go, with the aid
of occasional revelations on a few
points, in ascertaining tiie principles
of the divine administration, and to
demonstrate that, after all, the mind
needed a fuller revelation to enable
man to comprehend the truths per-
taining to the kingdom of God.'' If
Hear it for thy good. Marg. as in
Heb. thyself. These principles are
such that they are of importance for
you to understand and to apply.

CHAPTER VI.

ANALYSIS OF CHAPTERS VI. AND VII.

These two chapters comprise the answer of Job to the .^ipeech of Eliphaz. There is n:uch
strong emotion in this reply ; much that expresses the depth of his soirow; much real piety;
and mucli also that cannot be justified in his impatience, and in his remonstrances with God for
afflicting him. lie felt keenly the remarks of Eliphaz, and in the anguish of his soul, he gives
vent to expressions which he himself afterwards sees to he improper, and for which, in the
close, he makes humble and penitent acknowledgment to God. In reply to the harsh and severe
insmuations of Eliphaz, he justifies the bitterness of his complaints by the severity of the
affliction which he had been called to endure, ch. vi. 2-13. This object leads him into a paiticular
statement of the depth and extent of his sorrows, as if they had not been understood or appre-
ciated by his fijonds. He wishes (vs. 9,3) that his grief were thoioughly and attentively con-
Bidercd ; says (ver. 4) that the arrows of the Almighty are in him, and that the terrors of God
are arrayed against him ; remarks that he did not complain without cause, any more than the

CHAPTER VI.

97

wild ass or the ox when they were perishing, vs. 5-7 ; reiterates his request that God wouM
suffer hiLi to die, vs. 8, 9 ; repeats the thought that he would then have comfort in the grave,
ver. 10 ; and complains bitterly that his strength was insufficient lo hear these heavy trials, lie
then goes on to say, that a man in such ciicumstances ought to have the sympathy of his
friends, but that Ms friends had deceived him, and had greatly aggravated his sufferings, vs. 14-
23. They had shown themselves to be like a brook in the desert, where a company of travel-
lers expected to find water, hut which they found to he dried up, vs. 15-93. He then (vs. 24-
30) earnestly requests his friends to consider more attentively his circumstances, and to see
whether his strong expressions could not be justified. He evidently supposes that they did
not understand the depth of his sorrows, and did not sympathize with him as they ought to do.
Ill justification of his feelings (ch. vii. 1-11), he recapitulates his suffeiings. Eliphaz had
exliorted him to commit himself to God, and to bear all this with a calm and submissive mind.
To all this he says (ch vii. 1) that life was short, and that the days of man were like those of
an hireling, who anxiously longed forthe close of the day; that his was a life of toil and pain,
where it was [iroper to look for the shades of the evening, vs. 2, 3 ; that his days and nights were
tilled with vanity and sottovv. vs. 3, 4. He desciibes his disease as filling his flesh with worms
and clods of dust. ver. 5 ; and says that his days are swift, and that he must soon vanish away
like a cloud, and be known no more, ver. 10. How then, he asks, could lie restrain his anguish ?
How could he help speaking in the bitterness of his soul.' ver. 11. Hurried on by the deep
sen.se of his sorrows, he now allows himself to expostulate in a very imjjvoper manner with
God, and to remonstrate with him in great severity of language for thus afflicting him, vs. 12-19.
He asks w liether he was a sea or a v, hale, that God should watch him in this manner, ver. 12 ;
says that when he would take rest on his bed, then God frightened him with distressing visions,
vs. 13, 14 ; that such was his condition that he loathed and hated his life, vs. 15, 16, and demands
with impatience what is man that God should thus visit him, and that he would not for the
briefest time let him alone, vs. 17-'9; and, continuing the same bitter language of complaint,
he asks with impatience why, supposing he had sinned, was he of so much consequence as to
attract, in- a special manner, the attention of the Almigiity.' What injury had his offence
done to God, that he should visit him thus .-" Why did not God forgive the sin, and take his heavy
hand from him ? Why would he crush him down to the grave ? vs. 20, 21. Substantially the
.■Slime state of feeling is evinced in this speech of Job which was shown in ch. iii ; and while
there is great beauty, and much of the workings of the human heart developed, still there is
much, as we shall see, which cannot be commended or approved.

"jDUT Job answered and said,
-^ 2 Oh that my grief were
thorouglily weighed, and my ca-

2. 0 that my grief loere thoroughly
iceighed. The word rendered grief
here (^'^'3) may mean either vexa-
tion, trouble, grief, Eccl. i. 18, ii. 23 ;
or it may mean anger^ Deut. xxxii.
19. Ezek. XX. 28. It is rendered by
the LXX here, oo//j — anger; by
Jerome, pcccfli^a — sins. The sense
of the whole passage may either be,
that Job wished his anger or his
complaints to be laid in the balance
with his calamity, to see if one was
more weighty than the other — mean-
ing that he had not complained un-
reasonably or unjustly (RosenmiiUcr);
or that he wished that his afflictions
might be put into one scale and the
sandy of the sea in another, and
the one weighed against the other
(JVoyes) ; or simply, that he desired
that his sorrows should be accurately
estimated. This latter is, I think,
the true sense of the pa.-sage. He
supposed his friends had not under-

] amity ^ laid in the balances to-
gether !

1 lifted vp.

stood and appreciated his sufferings ;
that they were disposed to blame him
without understanding the extent of
his sorrows, and he desires that they
would estimate them aright before
they condemned him. In particular,
he seems to have supposed that
Eliphaz had not done justice to the
depth of his sorrows in the remarks
which he had just made. The figure
of weighing actions or sorrows, is
not uncommon or unnatural. It
means to take an exact estimate of
their amount. So we speak of /tea??*/
calamities, of afflictions that crush us
by their weight, etc. !I Laid in the
balances. Marg. Lifted up. That
is, raised up and put in the scales, or
put in the scales and then raised up —
as is common in weighing. ^ Together
('^'T'.'j). At the same time ; that nil
my sorrows, griefs, and woes, were
piled on the scales, and then weighed
He supposed that only a partial esti-

08

JOB.

3 For now it would be heavier
than the sand " of the sea : there-
fore ' my words are swallowed
up.

a Pr. Q7. 3. 1 i. c. I want words to cx])ress
r,uj rrrlrf. Ps. 77. 4.

mate had been formed of the extent
of liis calamities.

3. Hcdvicr than the sand of the sea.
Tliat is, tliey would be found to be
insupportable. Who could bear up
the sands of the sea? So Job says of
his sorrows. A comparison some-
what similar is found in Prov. xxvii. 3.

Heavy is a stone, and weighty the sand of the

sea,
But a fool's wrath is iieavier than them hoth.

V Mij words are srcal kneed V]). Marg.
/ vunit 2cords to express viy grief.
This expresses llie true sense — but
not with the same poetic beauty. We
express the same idea when we say
that we are choired with grief: we
are so overwhelmed witii sorrow that
we cannot speak. Ajiy very deep
emotion prevents the power of utter-
ance. So in Ps. Ixxvii. 4 :

^ Iiou holdcst mine eyes waking :

I am so trouijled that I cannot speak.

So th« well-known expressions in
Virgil,

Oh.-tupui, steteruntquc comte, ct^ox faucibus
Jifnsit.

There has been, however, considera-
ble variety in the interpretation of the
word iierc rendered sicalloiccd vp —
^-^. Gesenius supposes that it means
to speak rashly, to talk at random,
and that tlie idea is, that Job now
admits that his remarks Ijad been
unguarded — " therefore were my
words rash." The same sense
Castell gives to the Arabic word.
Schultens renders it, " therefore are
my words tempestuous or fretful."
Roscnmilller, " my words exceed
due moderation." Castellio, " my
words fill." Luther, "therefore it
is vain that I speak." The LXX,
"but my words seem to be evil "
Jerome, " my words are full of grief."
In this variety it is difficult to deter-
mine the meaning; but ])robably the

I 4 For the arrows of the Al-
I mighty are within me, the poison
whereof drinketh up my spirit :
the terrors ' of God do set them-
selves in array against me.

b Ps. S8. 15, 16.

old interpretation is to be retained, by
which the word is derived from
?'''', to absorb., to sioalloic up. Comp.
Prov. XX. 25. Obad. 16. Job xxxix.
30. Prov. xxiii. 2. The word does
not elsewhere occur.

4. For the arroics of the Mmighty
are within me. That is, it is not a
light affliction that I endure. I am
wounded in a manner which could
not be caused by man — called to
endure a severity of suffering which
shows that it proceeds from the
Almighty. Tlius called to suffer
what man could not cause, he main-
tains that it is right for him to com-
plain, and thai the words which he
employed were not an improper
expression of the extent of the grief.
1! The poisoji lohereof drinJicth up my
spirit. Takes away my vigor, my
comfort, my life. He here compares
his afflictions with being wounded
with poisoned arrows. Such arrows
were not unfrequently used among
the ancients. The object was to
secure certain death, even w'here the
wound caused by the arrow itself
would not produce it. Poison was
made so concentrated, that the small-
est quantity conveyed by the point of
an arrow would render death inevi-
table. This practice contributed
much to the barbarity of savage war.
Thus Virgil speaks of poisoned
arrows :

Ur.gcre tela manu, fcrrumquc armnro vencno.

yi:n. i.\. 773.
And again, ^n. x. 140 :
Vulnera dirigcre, ct calamos arniaie veneno.
So Ovid, Lib. 1. de Ponto, Eleg. ii.
of the Scythians :

Qui mortis ssevo geminent ut vulnere causas,
Omnia vipereo spicuia felle linuiit.

Comp. Justin, Lib. ii. c. 10. § 2; Gro-
tius, de Jure Belli et Pacis ; and

CHAPTER VI.

99

5 Doth the wild ass bray

Virgil, A'^n. xii. 857. lu tlio Odyssey,
i. 260, soq. we read of Ulysses that
lie went to Epliyra, a city of Thes-
snly, to obtain IVoni Ilus, the son of
Marnier, deadly poison, that he might
smear it over the iron points of his
arrows. The pestilence which pro-
duced so great a destruction in the
Grecian camp is also said by Homer
(Iliad i. 46) to have been caused by
arrows shot from tlic bow of Apollo.
The phrase " drinketh up the spirit "
is very expressive. We speak now
of the sword tliirsting for blood ; but
this language is more expressive and
striking. The figure is not uncom-
mon in the poetry of the East and of
the ancients. In the poem of Zohair,
the third of the Moailakat, or those
transcribed in golden letters, and
suspended in the temple of Mecca,
the same image occurs. It is thus
rendered by Sir William Jones :

'Tlieir javelins had no sliare in drinking tlie
blood of Nuufcl."

A similar expression occurs in Soph-
ocles in Trachinn. vs. 1061, as quoted
by Schultens, when describing the
pestilence in which Hercules suffered:

This has been imitated by Cicero in
Tusculan. Disp. ii. 8 :

Ha?c mo irrotivit veste fuiiali inscium,
Clure lutcri inliaprons morsu laccrat viscera,
Urgensiiue graviter, pulmonum liaurit spiritus,
Jam decoloieiTi sanguincm omnem exsorbuit.

So Lucan, Pharsa. ix. 741, seq. gives
a similar description :

Ecce subii virus taciturn carpctque niedulla.s
Igni.s eda.x, calidoque inciulit viscera tabe.
Ebil)it liumorem circa vitalia fiisum
Pestis, ot in sicco linguain torrere palate
Coppit.

Fai more beautiful, however, than
the expressions of any of the ancient
classics — more tender, more delicate,
more full of pathos — is the descrip-
tion which the Christian poet Covvper
gives of the arrow that pierces the
side of the sinner. It is the account
of his own conversion :

' when he lialli irrass ? or loweth
tlie o.\ over his fodder ?

[ was a stricken deer thai left the herd
Long since. With many an arrow deep inti.K'J
iSIy panting side was charged, when [ withdrew,
To seek a tranquil death in distant shades.
'J'hcro I was found by one, who had himself
Been iuirt by the archers. In his side ho bore,
And in iiis hands and feet, the ciuol scars.
1\\si<, b. iii

Of such wounding lie did not com-
plain. The arrow was extracted by
tiie tender liand of him who alone
had power to do it. Had Job known
of him ; had he been fully acquainted
with the plan of mercy through him,
and the comfort which a wounded
sinner may find there, we should not
Jiave lieard the bitter complaints
which he uttered in his trials. Let
us not judge him with the severity
which we may use of one who is
afflicted and complains under the full
light of the gospel. Tl The terrors of
God do set themselves in array against
me. Tliose things which God uses
to excite terror. The word which is
rendered "set in array " (T^^^) pi-op-
erly denotes the drawing up of a line
for battle ; and tlie sense is here,
that all these terrors seem to be
drawn up in battle array, as if on
purpose to destroy him. No expres-
sion could more strikingly describe
the condition of an awakened sinner,
though it is not certain that Job used
it precisely in this sense. The
idea as he used it is, that all that
God commonly employed to produce
alarm seemed to be drawn up as in a
line of battle against him.

5. Doth tlie wild ass bray ichen he
hath grass. On the habits of the wild
ass, see Notes on ch. xi. 12. The
meaning of Job here is, that he did
not complain without reason ; and
this he illustrates by the fact that tiie
wuld animal that had a plentiful
supply of food would be gentle and
calm, and that when its bray was
heard it was proof that it was suffer-
ing. So Job says that there was a
reason for his complaining. He was
suffering ; and perhaps he means
that his complaint was just as natu-

100

JOB.

6 Can that Vv'hich is unsavoury be eaten without salt ? or is th^re

ral, and just as innocent, as the bray-
ing of the ass for its food. He should
have remembered, however, that he
was endowed with reason, and that
he was bound to evince a different
spirit from tlie brute creation. TT Or
loweth the ox over his fodder That
is, the ox is satisfied and unmurmur-
ing when his wants are supplied.
The fact that he lows is proof that
he is in distress, or tiiere is a reason
for it. So Job says that his com-
plaints were proof that he v^as in
distress, and that there was a reason
for his language of complaint.

6. Can that which is unsavory.
Which is insipid, or without taste.
II Be eaten without salt. It is neces-
sary to add salt in order to make it
either palatable or wholesome. The
literal truth of this no one can doubt.
Insipid food cannot be relished, nor
would it long sustain life. "The Ori-
entals eat their bread often with
mere salt, without any other addition
except some dry and pounded sumer-
savory, which last is the common
method at Aleppo." Russell's Natural
History of Aleppo, p. 27. It should
be remembered, also, that the bread
of the Orientals is commonly mere
unleavened cakes. See Rosenmtiller,
Alte u. neuc Morgenland, on Gen.
xviii. 6. The idea of Job in this
adage or proverb is, that there was a
fitness and propriety in things. Cer-
tain things went together, and were
necessary companions. One cannot
be expected without the other; one
is incomplete without the other.
Insipid food requires salt in order to
make it palatable and nutritious, and
so it is proper tliat suffering and
lamentation should be united. There
was a^reason for his complaints, as
there was for adding salt to unsavory
food. Much perplexity, however,
has been fidt in regard to this whole
passage, vs. 6, 7. Some liave sup-
posed that Job means to rebuke Eli-
phaz severely for his harangue on the
necessity of patience, which he char-
acterizes as insipid, impertinent, and

disgusting to him ; as being in fa,.t ae
unpleasant to his soul as the white of
an egg was to the taste. Dr. Good
explains it as meaning, "Doth that
which has nothing of seasoning,
nothing of a pungent or irritating
power within it, produce pungency
or irritation ? I too should be quiet
and complain not, if I had nothing
provocative or acrimonious ; but alas !
the food I am doomed to partake ot
is the very calamity which is most
acute to my soul, that which I most
loathe, and which is most grievous or
trying to my palate." But the real
sense of this first part of the verse is,
I think, that which is expressed
above — that insipid food requires
proper condiment, and that in hia
sufferings there was a real ground for
lamentation and complaint — as there
was for making use of salt in that
which is unsavory. I see no reason
to think that he meant in this to
reproach Eliphaz for an insipid and
unmeaning address. H Or is there
any taste in the v:hitc of an egg ?
Critics and commentators have been
greatly divided about the meaning of
this. The LXX render it, el d? y.al
fori yei\((a iv ^)i']f(aoi. y.ffolq; is there
any taste in vain words ? Jerome
(Vulg), " can any one taste that
which being tasted produces death ?"
The Targums render it substantial-
ly as it is in our version. The
Hebrew word rendered "white"
C"|'^'^) means properl}^ spittle, 1 Sam.
xxi. 14. If applied to an egg, it means
the white of it, as resembling spittle.
The word rendered "egg" (r^^^t^^)
occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures.
If it be regarded as derived from
D5'7, to shcp, or dream, it may denote
somnolency or dreams, and then
fatuity, folly, or a foolish speech, as
resembling dreams ; and many have
supposed that Job meant to charac-
terize the speech of Eliphaz as of
this description. The word may
mean, as it does in Syriac, a species
of herb, the " purslain " (Gesenius),

CHAPTER VI.

101

mty taste in Ihe white of an egg ? I 8 Oh that I might have my
7 The things that my soul re- i request ; and that God would
fused to touch are as my sorrow- grant me ' the thing that I long
ful meat. I for ;

I 1 my ezpectation.

duced to the greatest pain and dis-
tress in partaking of his food, since
he loathed that which he was obliged-
to eat (comp. Notes ch. iii. 24), or
more probably his cahunity is de-
scribed under the image of loathsome
food in accordance with the Oriental
usage, by which one is said to eat
or taste any thing ; i. e. to experience
it. His sorrows were as sickening
to him as the articles of food which
he had mentioned were to the
stomach. The LXX render it
strangely, " For my wrath — uov r]
ooyj] — cannot cease. For I see my
food offensive as the smell of a
lion" — woTTfO onijiirjp Afo/'ro?.

8. Oh that I mi(rht have my request.
To wit, death. This he desired as
the end of his sorrows, either that he
might be freed from them, or that lie
might be admitted to a happy world
— or both. 1[ Would grant me tlie
thing that I long for. Marg. My
expectation. That is, death. He ex-
pected it; he looked out for it; he
was impatient that the hour should
come. This state of feeling is not
uncommon — where sorrows become
so accumulated and intense that a
man desires to die. It is no evidence,
however, of a preparation for death
The wicked are more frequently in
this state than the righteous. They
are overwhelmed with pain ; they
see no hope of deliverance from it ;
and they impatiently wish that the
end had come. They are stupid
about t!ie future world, and either
suppose that the grave is the end of
their being, or that in some unde-
finable way they will be made happy
hereafter. The righteous, on the
other hand, arc willing to wait until
God shall be pleased to release them,
feeling that He has some good pur-
pose in all that they endure, and that
they do not suffer one pang too much

proverbial for its insipidity among
the Arabs, Greeks, and Romans, but
which was used as a salad ; and the
whole phrase here may denote pur-
slain-hroth., and hence an insipid dis-
course. This is the interpretation of
Gesenius ; but the more common and
more probable explanation is that of
our common version, denoting the
white of an egg. But what is the
point of the remark as Job uses it .?
That it is a proverbial expression, is
apparent ; but in what way Job
meant to apply it, is not so clear.
The Jews say that he n^eant to apply
it to the speech ofEliphazas being
insipid and dull, without any thing
to penetrate the heart or to enliven
the fancy ; a speech as disagreeable to
the mind as the white of an cgs, was
insipid to the taste. Roseniniiller
supposes that he refers to his afflic-
tions, as being as unpleasant to bear
as the white of an egg was to the
taste. It seems to me that the sense
of all the proverbs used here is about
the same, and that they mean, ' there
is a reason for every thing which
occurs. The ass brays and the ox
lows only when destitute of food.
That which is insipid is unpleasant,
and the white of an egg is loathsome.
So with my afflictions. They produce
loathing and disgust. My very food
(ver.7) is disagreeable, and ez;er?/fAmo-
seems tasteless as the most insipid
food would. Hence the language
which I have used — language spoken
not without reason, and expressive
of this state of the soul.'

7. The things that my soul refused
to touch. That / refused to touch —
the word soul here being used to de-
note himself. The idea here is, that
those things which formerly were ob-
jects of loathing to him, had become
his painful and distressing food. The
idea may be either that he was re-

102

JOB.

9 Even that " it would please
God to destroy me; that he
would let loose his hand and cut
me off!

a 1 Ki 19. 4. Jon. 4. 3, 8. b Ps. 40. 9. Ac.
20. 20, 27. c Is. 57. 15.

Such sometimes were Job's feelings;
but here, as in some other instances,
no one can doubt that he was betray-
ed into unjustifiable impatience under
his sorrows, and that he expressed an
improper wish to die.

9. Even that it would pi ease God to
destroy me. To put me to death, and
to release me from my sorrows.
Comp. ch. iii. 20, 21. The word
rendered destroy here C^^"^) means
properly to break in pieces, to crusli,
to trample under foot, to make small
by bruising. Here the sense is, that
Job wished that God would crush
hiui, so as to take his life. The
LXX render it loound — roojoaro).
Tiie Chaldee renders it, " Let God,
who has begun to make me poor,
loose his hand and make me rich."
IT That he ^couUl let loose his hand.
Job here represents the hand of God
as bound or confined. He wishes
that that fettered hand were released,
and were so free in its inflictions that
he might be permitted to die. IT j^iid
cut me off. This expression, says
Gesenius (Lex. in the word ^'^^j?
is a metaphor derived from a weaver,
who, when his web is finished, cuts
it off from the thrum by which it
is fastened to the loom. See Notes
on Isa. xxxviii. 12. The sense is,
that Job wished that God would
wholly finish his work, and that as
he had begun to destroy him he
would complete it.

10. Then should I yet have comfort.
Dr. Good renders this, " then would
I already take comfort." Noyes,
" yet it should still be my consola-
tion." The literal sense is, ' and
there w'buld be to me yet consola-
tion ;' or ' my consolation would
yet be.' That is, he would find
comfort in the grave (comp. ch. iii.
13, seq.), or in the future world. 1[ /

10 Then should I yet have
comfort; yea, I would harden
myself in sorrow : let him not
spare ; for '' I have not concealed
the words of the Holy '^ One.

would harden myself in sorrow. Dr.
I Good renders this, " and 1 will leap
i for joy." In a similar way Noyes
I renders it, " I would exult." So
Schultens understands the expres-
sion. The Hebrew word rendered
" I would harden myself" C^?^) oc-
curs nowhere else, and expositors
have been divided in regard to its
meaning. According to Castell, it
means to strengthen, to confirm. The
Chaldee '^r^ means to grow warm,
to glow, to burn. The Arabic

XJ^J^ is applied to a horse, and
means to beat the earth with his feet,
and tiien to leap, to exult, to spring
up : and this is the idea which Gese-
nius and others suppose is to be re-
tained here — an idea which certainly
better suits the connection than the
common one of hardening himself in
sorrow. The LXX render it riD.ofiriv
— " I would leap," or exult, although
they have sadly missed the sense in
the other part of the verse. Tiiey
render it, " Let but my city be a

i grave, upon whose walls I will leap ;
I will not spare, for I have not falsi-
fied the holy words of my God."
The Chaldee renders it, " and I will
exult (?'1^?!?.1) when fury comes
upon the wicked." The probable
meaning is, that Job would exult or
rejoice, if he was permitted to die;
he would triumph even in the midst
of his sorrow, if he might lie down
and expire. U Let him not spare.
Let him not withhold or restrain
those sufferings which would sink
me down to the grave. IT For I have
not concealed the zaords of the Holy
One. I have openly and boldly main-
tained a profession of attachment to

I the cause of God, and to his truth.

I I have, in a public and solemn man-

CHAPTER VI.

103

1 1 What is my strength, that I
should hope ? and what is mine
end, that I should prolong my
life?

ner, professed attachment to my
Maker ; I have not refused to ac-
knowledge tliat I am his ; I have not
been ashamed of him and his cause.
How much consolation may be found
in such a reflection when we come to
die ! If there has been a consistent
orofession of religion ; if there has
been no shrinking back from attach-
ment to God ; if in all circles, high
and low, ricii and poor, gay and
serious, there lias been an unwaver-
ing and steady, though not ostenta-
tious, attachment to the cause of God,
it will give unspeakable consolation
and confidence when we come to die.
If there has been concealment, and
sJiame, and shrinking back from a
profession of religion, there will be
shame, and regret, and sorrow. Comp.
Ps. xl. 9. Acts XX. 20-27.

11. IVhat is mtj strength, that I
should hope? Job had hitlierto borne
his trials without appreiiension that
he would lose his constancy of hope,
or his confidence in God. He here
seems to apprehend that his constan-
cy might fail, and he therefore wishes
to die before he should be left to dis-
honor God. He asks, therefore, what
strength he had that he should hope
to be able to sustain his trials much
longer. V. And tch.at is mine end,
that I should prolong viy life ? Va-
rious interpretations have been given
of this passage. Some suppose it
means, ' Wluit is the limit of my
strength.' How long will it last.''
Others, ' Wiiat end is there to be to
n)y miseries V Others, ' How distant
is mine end.' How long have I to
live .'' Noyes renders it, " And what
is mine end that I should be patient .'"
Rosenmiiller supposes that the word
"end" here means the 'end of his
strength,' or that he had not such
foriitudc as to be certain that lie
could long bear his trials without
complaining or murmuring. The

12 J5 my Strength the Strength
of stones 1 or is my flesh ' of
brass ?

phrase rendered 'prolong my life,'
probably means rather 'to lengthen
the patience,' or to hold out ujider
accumulated sorrows. TJie word
rendered life (~^..5) often means soul,
spirit, mind, as well as life, and the
sense is, that he could not hope, from
any strength that he had, to bear
without murmuring these trials until
the natural termination of his life ;
and hence he wished God to grant
his request, and to destroy ])im.
Feeling that his patience was sinking
under his calamities, lie says that it
would be better for him to die than
be left to dishonor his Maker. It is
just tiie state of feeling which many
a sufiercr has, that his trials are so
great that nature will sink under
them, and that death would be a re-
lief Thcji is the lime to look to God
for support and consolation.

12. Is my strength the strnigth of
stones? That is, like a rampart or
fortification made of stones, or like
a craggy rock that can endure as-
saults made upon it. A rock will
bear the beatings of the tempest, and
resist the floods, but iiow can frail
man do it .' The idea of Job is, that
he had no strength to bear up against
these accumulated trials ; that he v/as
afraid that he should be left to sink
under them, and to complain of God ;
and that his friends were not to won-
der if his strength gave way, and lie
uttered the language of complaint.
U Or is my flesh of brass ? jMarg. hra-
zen. The comparison here used is
not uncommon. So Cicero, Aca. Q,u.
iv. 31, says, Non enim est c saxo
sculptus, aut e robore dolatus iiomo ;
habet corpus, habct animum ; move-
tur mente, movctur sensibus: — "for
man is not chiselled out of the rock,
nor cut from a tree ; he has a body,
he has a soul ; he is actuated by
mind, he is swayed by senses." So

104

JOB.

13 Is not my help in me ? and
is v/isdom driven quite from me ?

14 To him that ' is afflicted

1 melteth.

Theocritus, in his description of
Amycus, Idyll, xxii. 47 •

^T<]'hii 6^ icTCbaipojTO -as^Mpia, koX TrXaru vJjrov

'Round as to his vast breast and
broad back, and with iron flesh, he
is as if a colossus formed with a ham-
mer.' So in Homer the expression
frequently occurs — aidr^neiov rjToo —
an iron heart — to denote courage.
And so, according to Schultens, it
has come to be a proverb, ovy. ano
tJui'o?, oi'y. (XTTo TTfro?/? — not from a
tree, not from a rock. The meaning
of Job is plain. He had flesh like
others. His muscles, and nerves,
and sinews, could not bear a constant
force applied to them, as if they were
made of brass or iron. They vi2ist
give way ; and he apprehended that
he would sink under these sorrows,
and be left to use language that might
dishonor God. At all events, he felt
that these great sorrows justified the
strong expressions which he had al-
ready employed.

13. Is not my help in me? This
would be better rendered in an affirma-
tive manner, or as an exclamation.
The interrogative form of the pre-
vious verses need not be continued
in this. The sense is, ' alas ! there
is no help in me !' That is, ' I
have no strength ; I must give up
under these sorrows in despair.' So
it is rendered by Jerome, RosenniQl-
ler. Good, Noyes, and others. IT And
is icisdom quite driven from ine?
This, also, should be read as an
affirmation, ' deliverance is driven
from me.' Tiie word rendered wis-
dom, (tl^'iT^in) means properly a set-
ting upright ; then help, deliverance ;
and then purpose, enterprise. See
Notes on ch. v. 1^2. Here it means that
all hope of deliverance had fled, and
that he was sinking in despair.

14. To him that is afflicted. Marg.

" pity should he shewed, from his
friend ; but he forsaketh the fear
of the Almighty.

a Hp. 13. 3.

melteth. The word here used (^7)
is from GO'^, ina.sds, to melt, flow
down, waste away, and here n)eans
one who pines away, or is consumed
under calamities. The design of
this verse is, to reprove his friends
for the little sympathy which they
had shown for him. He had looked
for consolation in his trials, and he
had a right to expect it; but he says
that he had met with just the opposite,
and that his calamity was aggravated
by the fact thatth.ey had dealt only in
the language of severity. ITPif^/sliould
be shovvcd/ro7?«, his friend. Good ren-
ders this, " shame to the man who
despiseth his friend." A great variety
of interpretations have been proposed
of the passage, but our translation
has probably expressed the true
sense. If there is any place where
kindness should be shown, it is when
a man is sinking under accumulated
sorrows to the grave. H Bui he for
sakcth the fear of the Almightij.
This may be either understood as
referring to the language which Job
says they had used of him — charging
him with forsaking the fear of God,
instead of consoling him ; or it may
mean that they had forsaken the fear
of God in reproaching him, and in
failing, to comfort him; or it may
mean that if such kindness were not
shown to a friend in trial, he would
he left to cast off" the fear of God.
This last interpretation is adopted by
Noyes. Good supposes that it is de-
signed to be a severe reproach of
Eliphaz, for the course whicli he had
pursued. It seems to me that this is
probably the correct interpretation,
and that the particle T here is used
in an adversative sense, meaning that
while it was an obvious dictate Oi
piety to show kindness to a friend,
Eliphaz had forgotten this obliga-
tion, and had indulged himself in a
strain of remark which could not

CHAPTER VI.

105

15 My brethren ° have dealt

a Ps. 38. II.

have been prompted by true reli-
gion. This sentiment he proceeds
to illustrate by one of the most
beautiful comparisons to be found in
any language.

15. Mij brethren. To wit, the
three friends who had come to
condole with him. He uses the
language of hrethren^ to intimate
what he had a right to expect from
them. It is common in all languages
to give the name brethren to friends.
II Have dealt deceitfuUy. That is,
I have been sadly disappointed. 1
looked for the language of condolence
and compassion ; for something to
cheer my heart, and to uphold me in
my trials — as weary and thirsty tra-
vellers look for water, and are sadly
disappointed when they come to it^
})lace where they expected to find
it, and find the stream dried up.
Tlie simile here used is exquisitely
beautiful, considered as a mere de-
scription of an actual occurrence in
the deserts of Arabia. But its chief
beauty consists in its exact adaptation
to the case before him, and the point
and pith of the reproof which it ad-
ministers.. " Tlie fullness, strength,
and noise of these temporary streams
in winter, answer to the large pro-
fessions made to Job in his prosperity
by his friends. The dryness of the
waters at the approach of summer,
resembles the failure of their friend-
ship in time of affliction." Scott^ as
quoted by Noyes. *^ J]s a brook.
That is, as a stream that is swelled
by winter torrents, and that is dry in
summer. Such streams abound in
Arabia, and in the East generally.
The torrents pour down from the
hills in time of rain, or when swelled
by the melting of the ice ; but in
summer they are dry, or their waters
are lost in the sand. Even large
Btreams are thus absorbed. The
liver Barrady, which waters Damas-
cus, after passing to a short distance
Ko the south-east of the city towards

deceitfully as a brook, ancles the
stream of brooks they pass away ;

the Arabian deserts, is lost in the
sand, or evaporated by the heat of the
sun. The idea here is, that travel-
lers in a caravan would approacli
tho place where water had been
found before, but would find the
fountain dried up, or the stream lost
in the sand ; and when they looked
for refreshment, they found only dis-
appointment. In Arabia there are
not many rivers. In Yemen, indeed,
there are a few streams that flow the
year round, and on the East the
Euphrates has been claimed as be-
longing to Arabia. But most of the
streams are winter torrents that be-
come dry in summ.er, or rivulets that
are swelled by heavy rains. An
illustration of the verse before us
occurs in Cam^jbelTs Travels in
Africa. " In desert parts of Africa
it has aftorded much joy to fall in
with a brook of water, especially
when running in the direction of the
journey, expecting it would prove a
valuable companion. Perhaps before
it accompanied us two miles it be-
came invisible by sinking into the
sand ; but two miles farther along it
would reappear and raise hopes of
its continuance ; but after running a
few hundred yards, would sink
finally into the sand, no more again
to rise." A comparison of a man
who deceives and disappoints one to
such a stream is common in Arabia,
and has given rise, according to
Schultens, to many proverbs. Thus
they say of a treacherous friend, " I
put no trust in thy torrent;' and, "O
torrent, thy flowing subsides." So
the Scholiast on Moallakat says, "a
pool or flood was called Gadyr, be-
cause travellers when they pass by i.
find it full of water, but when they
return they find nothing there, and it
seems to have treacherously betray-
ed them. So they say of a false
man, that he is more deceitful than
the appearance of water" — referring,
perhaps, to the deceitfu-l appearance

106

JOB.

16 Which are blackish by
reason of the ice, and wherein
the snow is hid :

17 What time thev wax v/arm,

of the mirage in the sands of the
desert. Sec Notes on Isa. xxxv. 7.
IT And as the stream of brooks they
pass aicaij. As the valley stream —
the stream that runs along in the
valley, that is filled by the mountain
torrent. Tiiey pass away on the re-
turn of summer, or when the rain
ceases to fall, and the valley is again
dry. So wilh the consolations of
false friends. Tliey cannot be de-
pended on. All their professions
are temporary and evanescent.

16. IVhich are blackish. Or, rather,
w^hich are turbid. The word here
used ('^'IIF;) means to be turbid, foul,
or muddy, spoken of a torrent, and
then to be of a dusky color, to be
dark colored, as e. g. the skin scorch-
ed by the sun. Job xxx. 28; or to be
dark — as when the sun is obscured.
Joel ii. 10, iv. 15. Jerome renders it.
Qui timent pruinatn — ' which fear the
frost, when the snow comes upon
them.' The LXX render it, " they
who had venerated me now rushed
upon me like snow or hoar-frost,
which melting at the approach of
heat, it was not known whence it
was." The expression in the Hebrew
means that they were rendered dark
and turbid by the accumulated tor-
rents caused by the dissolving snow
and ice. IT By reason of the ice.
When it melts and swells the
streams. H And wherein the snow is
hid. That is, says Noyes, melts and
flows into them. It refers to the
melting of the snow in the spring,
when the streams are swelled as a
consequence of it. Snow, by melt-
'mg in the spring and summer, would
swell the streams, which at other
times were dry. Lucretius mentions
the melting of the snows on the
mountains of Ethiopia, as one of the
causes of the overflowing of the Nile :
Foisitan Ethiopum penitus de montibus altis

they ' vanish : ' when it is hot,
they are ^ consumed out of their
place.

1 are cut off. 2 in the heat thereof

3 exi'mguished.

Crescat, ubi in campos albas descendere nin

gues
Tabificis subigit radiis sol, omnia lustian*

vi -rl-i.
Or, from the Ethiop-mountains, the bri^.'jtsun,
Now full matured, with deep-dissolving ray,
May melt the agglomerate snows, and down

the plains
Drive them, augmenting hence the incipient

stream. Good.

A similar description occurs in Ho-
mer, \\. xi. 492 :

'Qg (5' OTTOTZ TT\nd(jL)V TTOTajlOS TTcilOV^C hO.TtLCt

^ctjiappovs KiXT opeecpivj /c.r.X.

And in Ovid also, Fast. ii. 219 :

Ecce velut torrens undis pluvialibus auctus,
Aut nive, quae, Zephyro victa. repente fluit,

Per sata, perque vias, fertur ; nee ut ante so-
lohat
Riparnm clausas marginc sinit aquas.

17. What time. In the time ; or
after a time. IT They wax warm.
Gesenius renders this word (^^^ir)
tchcn they became narrow, and tliis
version has been adopted by Noyes.
The word occurs nowhere else.
Taylor (Concord.) renders it, 'to be
dissolved by the heat of the sun.'
Jerome, fucrint dissipati — 'in the
time in which they are scattered.'
The LXX, ra-Afiaa O^fOftrjq yfrnf(fr>]!;
— 'melting at the approach of heat.'
The Chaldee, "In the time in which
the generation of the deluge sinned,
they were scattered." Castell says
that the word 2']T in Pihel, as the
word in Chaldee (-'Tl!), meairs to
flow ; and also that it has the same
signification as ^t^, tzardbh., to be-
come warm. In Syriac the word

v.r:5] means to be straitened, bound,

confined. On the whole, however,
the connection seems to require us to
understand it as it is rendered in our
common translation, as meaning, that
when they are exposed to the rf<ys of
a burning sun, they evaporate. They
pour down from the mountains in
torrents, but when they flow into

CHAPTER VI.

107

18 The paths of their way are
turned aside ; they go to nothing,
and perish,

1 9 The troops of Tenia " look-
burning sands, or become exposed to
tlio intense action of the sun, they
are dried up, and disappear. II They
vanish. Marg. are cut off. That is,
they wander off into the sands of the
desert until they are finally lost.
H When it is hot. Marg. in the heat
thereof. When the summer comes,
or when the rays of the sun are
poured down upon them. H They are
consumed. Marg. exting-uished. They
arc dried up, and furnish no water
for the caravan.

18. Th e paths of their icay are turn-
ed aside. Noyes renders this, " The
caravans turn aside to them on
their way." Good, " The outlets of
their channel wind about." Rosen-
milller, "The bands of travellers di-
rect their journey to them." Jerome,
"Involved are the paths of their
steps." According to the interpreta-
tion of Rosenmiiller, Noyes, Umbreit,
and others, it means that the caravans
on their journey turn aside from their
regular way in order to find water
there ; and tliat in doing it they go up
into a desert and perish. According
to the other interpretation, it means
that the channels of the stream wind
along until they diminish and come
to nothing. This latter I take to be
the true sense of the passage, as it is
undoubtedly the most poetical. It is
a representation of the stream wind-
ing along in its channels, or making
new channels as it flows from the
mountain, until it diminishes by
evaporation, and finally comes to
nothing. H They go to nothing-
Noyes renders this very singularly,
" into the desert," — meaning that the
caravans, when they suppose they
are going to a place of refreshment,
actually go to a desert, and thus per-
ish. The word usfed here, however
(^liiri), does not occur in the sense of «
desert elsewhere in the Scriptures.
It denotes nothingness, emptiness,

ed, the companies of Sheba wait-
ed for them.

20 They were confounded be-

a Ge. 25. 15.

vanity (see Gen. i. 2), and very
appropriately expresses the nothing-
ness into which a stream vanishes
when it is dried up or lost in the sand.
The sense is, that tliose streams wan-
der along until they become smaller
and smaller, and then wholly disap-
pear. They deceive the traveller
who hoped to find refreshment there
Streams depending on snows and
storms, and having no permanent
fountains, cannot be confided in.
Pretended friends are like them. In
times of prosperity they are full of
professions, and their aid is profi'ered
to us. But we go to them when we
need their assistance, when we are
like the weary and thirsty traveller,
and they disappear like deceitful
streams in the sands of the desert.

19. The troops of Tema looked.
That is, looked for the streams of
water. On the situation of Tema,
see Notes, ch. ii. ]1. This was the
country of Eliphaz, and the image
would be well understood by him.
The figure is one of exquisite beauty
It means that the caravans from Te-
ma, in journeying through the desert,
looked for those streams. They
came with an expectation of finding
the means of allaying their thirst.
When they came there they were
disappointed, for the waters had dis-
peared. Reiske, however, render.s
this, "Their tracks (the branchings
of the flood) tend towards Tema ;"—
a translation vv^hich the Hebrew will
bear, but the usual version is more
correct, and is more elegant. H The
companies of Sheba xcaited for them.
The Sheba here referred to was
probably in the southern part of Ara-
bia. See Notes on Isa. xlv. 14. Tlie
idea is, that the caravans from that
part of Arabia came and looked for a
supply of water, and were disappoint-
ed.

20. Titey were confounded because

108

JOB.

cause they had hoped ; they
came thither, and were ashamed.
2 1 For now ' ye are "^ nothing ;
ye see my casting down, and are
afraid.

1 or, ye are like to it, or, Uiem. 2 not.

theij had hoped. The caravans of
Tema and Sheba. The word " con-
fotindod " liere means ashamed. It
represents the state of feeling which
one has who has met with disap-
pointment. He is perplexed, dis-
tressed, and ashamed that he had
entertained so confident hope. See
Notes on Isa. xxx. 5. They were
downcast and sad that the waters
had failed, and they looked on one
another with confusion and dismay.
There are few images more poetic
than this, and nothing that would
more strikingly exhibit the disap-
pointment of Job, that he liad looked
for consolation from his friends, and
had not found it. He was downcast,
distressed, and disheartened, like the
travellers of Tema and of Sheba, be-
cause they had nothing to offer to
console him ; because he had waited
for them to sustain him in his afflic-
tions, and had been wholly disap-
pointed.

21. For now yc are as nothing.
Marg. ' or, Ye are like to it, or them.'
In the margin also the word nothing-
is rendered not. This variety arises
from a difference of reading in the
Hebrew text, many MSS. having in-
stead of !?<'', not, 'i'', to him, or to it.
Which is correct, it is not easy to
determine. Rosenmiiller supposes
that it is only a variety in writing the
word !^'', where the 1 is often used
for ^^. The probability is, that it
means, that they were as nothing- —
like the stream that had disappeared.
This is the point of the comparison ;
and tiiis .lob now applies to his
friends. They had promised much
by their coming — like the streams
when swollen by rains and melted
ice. But now they were found to be
nothing. H Ye see my casting doion.

22 Did I say, Bring unto me ?
or, Give a reward for me of your
substance ?

23 Or, Deliver me from the
enemy's hand? or, Redeem me
from the hand of the mighty ?

ini^n — rny being broken or crushed
my calamity. Yu\g. plagam. LXX,
toaTjiia, wound. IT ^nd are afraid.
Are timid and fearful. You shrink
back ; you dare not approach the
subject boldly, or come to me with
words of consolation. You came
with a professed intention to admin-
ister comfort, but your courage fails.

22. Did 1 say. Bring unto me. Job
proceeds to state that their conduct
in this had been greatly aggravated
by the fact that they had come volun-
tarily. He had not asked them to
come. He had desired no gift; no
favor. He had not applied to them
in any way or form for help. They
had come of their own accord, and
when they came they uttered only
the language of severity and reproach.
If he had asked them to aid him, the
case would have been different. That
would have given them some excuse
for interposing in the case. But now
the whole was gratuitous and unasked.
He did not desire their interference,
and he implies b}' these remarks that
if they could say nothing that would
console him, it would have been
kindness in them to have said nothing.
IT Or, Give a reivard for me of your
substance. That is, did I ask a pres-
ent from you out of your property .'
I asked nothing. I have on no occa-
sion asked you to interpose and aid
me.

23. Or, Deliver me out of the enemy's
hand. At no time have I called on
you to rescue me from a foe. IT Or,
Redeem me. That is, rescue me from
the hand of robbers. The meaning
is, that he was in no way beholden
to them ; he had never called on
them for assistance ; and there was
therefore no claim which they could
now have to afHict him farther by

CHAPTER VI.

109

24 Teach me, and I will hold
my tongue ; and cause me to
understand wherein I have err-
ed.

25 How forcible " are right
words ! but what doth your ar-
guing reprove 1

a Ec. 12. 11.

their reflections. There seems to be
something peevish in these remarks:
and we need not attempt to justify
the spirit which dictated them.

24. Teach inc^ and I lo'dl hold my
tojigue. That is, give me any real
instruction, or show me what is my
duty, and I will be silent. By this
he means that Eiiphnz iiad really
imparted no instruction, but had
dealt only in the language of reproof.
The sense is, ' I would willingly sit
and listen where truth is imparted,
and where I could be enabled to see
the reason of the divine dealings.
If I could be made to ^indtrstand
where I have erred, I would acqui-
esce.'

25. Hoio forcible are right icords !
How weighty and impressive are
words of truth ! Job means that he
was accustomed to feel their power,
and to admit it on his soul. If their
words were such, he would listen to
them with profound attention, and in
silence. The expression has a pro-
verbial cast. IT But ichat doth your
arguing reprove ? Or rather, what
doth the reproof from you reprove.''
or what do your reproaches prove .-'
Job professes a readiness to listen to
words of truth and wisdom ; he com-
plains that the language of reproach
used by them was not adapted to
instruct his understanding or to bene-
fit his heart. As it was, he did not
feel himself convinced, and was
Ukely to derive no advantage from
what they said.

26. 1)o ye imagine to reprove words ?
A considerable variety of interpreta-
tion has occurred in regard to this
verse. Dr. Good, following Schul-
tens, supposes that the word trans-
it

26 Do ye imagine to reprove
words, and the speeches of one
that is desperate, which are as
wind ?

27 Yea, ye ' overwhelm the
fatherless, and ye dig a pit for
your friend.

1 cmLse to fall tipon.

lated wind here (H^^i) means sighs,
or groans, and renders it,
W^ould ye then take up woicls for reproof.''
The more venting the moans of despair .'

But Rosenmfiller has well remarked
that the word never has this signifi-
cation. Noyes renders it,
Do ye mean to censure words .'
The words of a man in despair are but wind.

In this, he has probably expressed the
true sense. This explanation was
proposed by Ludov. de Dieu, and is
adopted by Rosenmuller. According
to this, the sense is, ' Do you think
it reasonable to carp at mere words ?
Will you pass over weighty and
important arguments and facts, and
dwell upon the icords merely that
are extorted from a man in misery ?
Do you not know that one in a state
of despair utters many expressions
which ought not to be regarded as
the result of his deliberate judg-
ment .'' And will you spend your
time in dwelling on those words
rather than on the main argument
involved ?' This is probably the true
sense of the verse ; and if so, it is a
complaint of Job that they were dis-
posed to make him ' an offender for a
word ' rather than to enter into the
real merits of the case, and espe-
cially that they were not disposed to
make allowances for the hasty ex-
pressions of a man almost in despair.
27. Fea, ye overwhelm the father-
less. Job undoubtedly means that
this should be applied to himself.
He complains that they took advan-
tage of his icords., that they were dis-
posed to pervert his meaning, and
unkindly distorted what he said.
The word rendered " fatherless "
(nin^) properly denotes an orphan,

110

JOB.

28 Now, therefore, be con-
tent, look upon rne : for it is
^ evident unto you if I lie.

] before your face.

Ex. xxii. 23. Deut. x. 18, xiv. 29.
But it is possible tliat it is not to be
taken in this limited signification
here. The word is still retained in
the Arabic language, — the language
spoken in the country v/here Job

lived, — where the word aJCj V^'
tham, means to be lonely, bereaved,
&c. It may be that this idea occurs
under the tbrm of the word used here,
that Job was lonely and bereaved ;
that he was as desolate and helpless
as a fatherless child; and especially
that they manifested a spirit like that
of those who would oppress an or-
phan The word " overwhelm "
(^b'lQJn) means properly, ' ye fall
upon ;' that is, you deal with him vio-
lently. Or, it may mean here, in the
Hiphil, ' you cause to fall upon,'
referring to a net, and meaning, that
they sprung a net for the orphan. So
Rosenmiiller and Noyes understand
it. To do this was, in Oriental coun-
tries, regarded as a crime of peculiar
enormity, and is often so spoken of
in the Bible. See Notes on Isa. i. 17.
H And ye dig a pit for your friend.
You act towards your friend as hunt-
ers do towards wild beasts. They
dig a pit and cover it over with brush-
wood to conceal it, and the hunted
animal, deceived, falls into it una-
wares. So you endeavor to entrap
your friend. You lay a plan for it.
You conceal your design. You con-
trive to drive him into the pit that
you have made, and urge him on till
you have caught him in the use of
unguarded language, or driven him to
vent expressions that cover him with
confusion. Instead of throwing a
mantle of charity over his frailties and
infirmities, you make the most of
every word, take it out of its proper
connection, and attempt to over-
whelm him in shame and disgrace. I
On the method of hunting in an- I

29 Return, I pray you, let it
not be iniquity ; yea, return
again, my righteousness is in -^it.

1 i. e. this matter.

cient times, see Notes on ch. xviii.
8-10.

28. JVoio, therefore^ he content.
Rosenmuller has better rendered this,
"if it please you." The sense is, 'if
you are willing, look upon me.'
That is, ' if you are disposed, you may
take a careful view of me. Look me
in the countenance. You can se*
for yourselves whether I am sincere
or false. I am willing that my whoU
demeanor should be subjected to the
utmost scrutiny.' IT For it is evident
xinto you if I lie. Marg. as in Heb.
before your face. That is, ' you your-
selves can see by my whole demean-
or, by my sufferings, my patience,
my manifest sincerity, that I am not
playing the hypocrite.' Conscious of
sincerity, he believed that if they
would look upon him, they would be
convinced that he was a sincere and
an upright man.

20. Return, I pray you. That is,
return to the argument. Give your
attention to it again. Perhaps he may
have discerned a disposition in them
to turn away from what he was say-
ing, and to withdraw and leave him.
Job expresses his belief that he could
convince them ; and he proposes
more fully to state his views, if they
would attend to him. TI Let it not
he iniquity. Let it not be considered
as wrong thus to come back to the
argument. Or, let it not be assumed
that my sentiments are erroneous,
and my heart evil. Job means, that
it should not be taken for granted
that he was a hypocrite ; that he was
conscious of sincerity, and that he
was convinced that he could satisfy
them of it if they would lend a lis-
tening ear. A similar sentiment he
expresses in ch. xix. 28:

But ve .sliould say, Why persecute we him.'
Seeing ihe root of the luatter is found in me.

IT My righteousness is in it. Marg.
i. c. this matter. The sense is, ' my

CHAPTER VII.

Ill

30 Is there iniquity in my

1 palate.

complete vindication is in the argu-
ment vvliicli I propose to state. I am
prepared to show that lam innocent.'
On that account, he wishes them to
return and attend to what he proposed
to say.

30. Is there iniquity in my tongue ?
Tliis is a solemn appeal to their
consciences, and their own deep
conviction that he was sincere. Ini-
quity in the tongue means falsehood,
deceit, hypocrisy — that which would
be expressed ly the tongue. IT Can-
not my taste discern jjerversc things 9
Marg. palate. The word used here
(~n) means properly the palate,
together with the corresponding low-
er part of the mouth, the inside
mouth. Gescnius. Hence it means
the organ of taste, residing in the
m»uth. The meaning is, that Job
was qualified to discern what was

tongue ? can not my ^ taste dis-
cern perverse things 1

true or false, sincere or hypocritical,
just or unjust, in the same manner as
the palate is fitted to discern the
qualities of objects, whether bitterer
sweet, pleasant or unpleasant, whole-
some or unwholesome. His object is
to invite attention to what he liad to
state on the subject. To this pro-
posed vindication he proceeds in llie
following chapter, showing tiie great-
ness of his calamity, and his right, as
he supposes, to complain. Tlieir
attention Avas gained. They did not
refuse to listen to him, and he pro-
ceeds to a fuller statement of his
calamity, and of the reasons why he
had allowed himself to use the lan-
guage of complaint. They listened
without interruption till he was done,
and then replied in tones of deeper
severity still.

CHAPTER VII.

I

'S there not ' an appointed "
time to man upon earth ? arc

1 or, icarfarc.

1. Is there not an appointed time to
man upon earth ? Marg. or, warfare.
The word here used (l^^-?) means
properly a host, an army, see Notes,
Isa. i. 9 ; then it means icarfarc, or
the hard service of a soldier. Notes,
Isa. xl. 2. Here it means that man
on the earth was enlisted, so to speak,
for a certain time. He had a certain
and definite hard service to perform,
and which he must continue to dis-
charge until he was relieved by
death. It was a service of hazard,
like the life of a soldier, or of toil,
like that of one who had been hired
for a certain time, and who anxiously
looked for the period of his release.

not his days also like the days of
an hireling ?

a c. 14. .S. 14.

The object of Job in introducing this
remark evidently is, to vindicate
himself for the wish to die which he
had expressed. He maintains that it
is as natural and proper for man in
his circumstances to wish to be re-
leased by death, as for a soldier to
desire that his term of service might
be accomplished, or a weary servant
to long for the shades of the evening.
The LXX render it, " Is not the life
of man upon the earth Tzei'^' art] ij tor,"
— explained by Schleusner, and ren-
dered by Good, as meaning a band oj
pirates. The Vulgate renders it,
militia — military service. Tiie sense
is, that the life of man was like the

112

JOB.

2 As a servant ' earnestly de-
sireth the shadow, and as an
hireling looketh for the reivard
of his work ;

hard service of a soldier ; and this is
one of the points of justification to
which Job referred in ch. vi. 29, 30.
He maintains that it is not improper
to desire that such a service should
close. ^ The days of an hireling. A
man who has been hired to perform
some service with a promise of a re-
ward, and who is not unnaturally
impatient to receive it. Job main-
tained that such was the life of man.
He was looking forward to a reward,
and it was not unnatural or improper
to desire that that reward should be
given to him.

2. As a servant earnestly dcsireth.
Marg. gapcth after. The word here
(*i^^) means to breathe hard, to
pant, to blow, and then to desire ear-
nestly. IT Tlie shadoiD. This may
refer either to a shade in the intense
heat of the day, or to the night. No-
thing is more grateful in oriental
countries, v/hen the sun pours down
intensely on burning sands, than the
shadow of a tree, or the shade of a
projecting rock. The editor of the
Pictorial Bible on this verse remarks,
" We think we can say, that next to
water, the greatest and deepest enjoy-
ment we could ever realize in the
hot climates of the East was, when
on a journey, any circumstance of
the road brought us for a few minutes
under some shade. Its reviving influ-
ence upon the bodily fi-ame, and con-
sequently upon the spirits, is incon-
ceivable by one who has not had
some experience of the kind. Often
also during the halt of a caravan in
the open air, when the writer has
been enabled to secure a station for
repose under the shelter of a rock or
of an old wall, has his own exultation
and strong sense of luxurious enjoy-
ment reminded him of this and other
passages of Scripture, in which shade
is mentioned as a thing panted for
with intense desire." Probably here.

3 So am I made to possess
months of vanity, and wearisome
nights "■ are appointed to me.

1 gapeth after. a Fs. 6. 6.

however, the reference is to the
shades of night, the time when dark-
ness falls upon the earth, and the
servant is released from his toil. It
is common in all languages to speak
of night as enveloped with shadows
Thus Virgil, ^n. iv. 7:
Ilumentomquc aurora polo dimoverat umbrain
The meaning of Job is, that as a ser-
vant looked impatiently for the shades
of the evening when he would be
dismissed from toil, so he longed for
death. H And as an hireling looketh.
That is, he anxiously desires his
work to be finished, and expects the
reward of his labors. So Job looked
to the reward of a life of toil and
piety. Is there not here an undoubted
reference to a future state .'' Is it not
manifest that Job looked to some
recompense in the future world, as
real and as sure, as a hired servant
looks for the reward of his toils when
his work is done .''

3. So am I made to possess. Heb.
I am made to inherit. The meaning
is, that such sad and melancholy
seasons now were his only portion.
U Months of vanity. That is, months
which were destitute of comfort ; in
other words, months of affliction.
How long his trials had continued
before this, we have no means of
ascertaining. There is no reason,
however, to suppose that his bodily
sufferings came upon him all at once,
or that they had not continued for a
considerable period. It is quite prob-
able that his expressions of impatience
were the result not only of the inten-
sity^ but the contimtance of his sor-
rows. H And tcearisome nights arc
appointed to me. Even his rest was
disturbed. The time when care is
usually forgotten and toil ceases,
was to him a period of sleepless
anxiety and distress — ^^^'- The
LXX render it, nights of pangs
(ri'xTfs oJi<i'w»'), expressing accurately

CHAPTER VII.

113

4 When '' I lie down, I say,
When shall I arise, and the
' night be gone ? and I am full
of tossings to and fro unto the
dawning of the day.

5 My flesh is clothed with
worms and clods of dust; my
skin is broken, and become loath-
some.

the sense of tiie Hebrew. TJie He-
brew word ?^^' is commonly ap-
plied to intense sorrow, to trouble
;ind pain of the severest kind, such
as the pains of parturition. See
Notes on isa. liii. ]1.

4. When I lie doicn. I find no
comfort and no rest on my bed. My
nights are long, and 1 am impatient
to have them passed, and equally so
is it with the day. This is a descrip-
tion which all can understand who
have been laid on a bed of pain. IF
And the night be gone. Marg. cvcn-
ii'o- he measured. Herder renders
this, "the night is irksome to me."
'Vlie word rendered night (^"!?)
J roperly means the early part of the
Slight, until it is succeeded by the
dawn. Thus in Gen. i. 5, "And
tiic evening (2'!]5.') and the morning
were the first day." Here it means
the portKui of the night which is be-
fore the dawning of the aurora — the
night. The word rendered " be gone,"
and in the margin " be measured "
("•t!^)? has been variously rendered.
Tlie verb ^"1^ means to stretch, to
extend, to measure ; and, according to
Gesenius, the form of the word here
used is a noun meaning flight, and
the sense is, ' when shall be the flight
of the night .'' He derives it from
T^J, to move, to flee, to flee away.
So Rosenmtiller explains it. The
expression is poetic, meaning, when
shall the night be gone .'' IT I am full
of tossings to and fro (d'^'7'13). A
word from the same root. It means
uneasy motions, restlessness. He
found no quiet repose on his bed. H
Unto the datcning. ^^??., from ?11r^5>
to breathe; hence the evening twi-
light because the breezes blow, or
seem to breathe, and then it means

a De. 2?. G7

1 cvcniiJg he mca.mrctl.

Dr. Stock renders it, " till tiie moin-
ing breeze."

5. My flesh is clothed loitlt xcorms.
Job here undoubtedly refers to his
diseased state, anfl this is one of the
passages by which we may learn the
nature of his complaint. Comp.
Notes on ch. ii. 7. There is reference
here to the worms which are produced
in ulcers and in other forms of dis-
ease. Michaclis remarks that such
effVjcts are produced often in the ele-
phantiasis. Bochart, llieroz. P. H,
Lib. IV. c. xxvi. pp. 619-621, has
abundantly proved that such effects
occur in disease, and has mentioned
several instances where death ensued
from this cause. Comp. Acts xii.23.
The same thing would often happen
— and particularly in hot climates —
if it were not for the closest care and
attention in keeping running sores as
clean as possible. II And clods of
dust. Accumulated on the ulcers
which covered his whole body. This
efl^ect would be almost unavoidable.
Dr. Good renders this, " worms, and
the imprisoning dust," and supposes
that the image is taken from the
grave, and tliat the idea in the wliole
passage is that of one who is ' dead
while he lives;' that is, of one who
is undergoing putrefaction before he
is buried. But the more common
and correct interpretation is that
which refers it to the accumulated
filth attending a loathsome disease.
See ch. ii. 8. The word which is
here used and rendere(i clods (^^J\)
means a lump of earth or dust. Sept.
^o'Aay.aq yrjq ; Vulg. sordes pulveris.,
' clods of earth.' The whole verse is
rendered by the LXX, " My body
swarms with the putrefliction of
worms, and I moisten the clods of
earth with the ichor (t/oinnq) of ul-
t^ers." II My skin is brohcn — ^"5"^.

14

JOB.

6 My days are swifter than a
weaver's shuttle, and are spent
without hope.

a Ge. 42. 36.

Tliis word means, to make afraid, to
terrify ; and then to shrink together
from fear, or to contract. Here it
means, according to Gesenius, that
♦ the skin came together and healed,
and then broke forth again and ran
with pus.' Jerome renders it, a?-uit
— dries up. Herder, "my skin be-
cometli closed." Dr. Good, " my skin
becometh stiff;" and carries out his
idea that the reference here is to the
stiffened and rigid appearance of the
body after death. Doederlin sup-
poses that it refers to the rough and
horrid appearance of the skin in the
elephantiasis, wlien it becomes rigid
and frightful by the disease. Jarchi
renders it, cutis mea corrugata — my
skin is rough, or fdled icith icrinhles.
This seems to me to be the idea, that
it was filled with wrinkles and corru-
gations ; that it became stiff, fixed,
frightful, and was such as to excite
terror in the beholder. IT And be-
come loathsome. Gesenius, " runs
again with pus." The word here
used (O^"?) means properly to reject,
contemn, despise. A second sense
which it has is, to melt, to run like
water. Ps. Iviii. 7, " Let them melt
away (''^^.'S^) as waters." But the
usual meaning is to be preferred here.
His skin became abhorrent and
loathsome in the sight of others.

6. My days are sivifter than a
weaver's shuttle. That is, they are
short and few. He does not here
refer so much to the rapidity with
which they were passing away as to
the fact that they would soon be gone,
and that he was likely to be cut off
without being permitted to enjoy the
blessings of a long life. Comp.
Notes on Isa. xxxviii. 12. The
weaver's shuttle is tiie instrument
by which the weaver inserts the
fillino- in the woof. With us few
things would furnish a more striking

7 O remember that my life is
wind : mine " eye shall ^ no
more ~see good.

1 not return. 2 to see, i.e. to enjoy.

emblem of rapidity than the speed
with which a weaver throv/s his
shuttle from one side of the web to
the other. It would seem that such
w^as the fact among the ancient**,
though the precise manner in which
they wove their cloth, is unknown.
It was common to compare life with
a web, which was filled up by the
successive days. The ancient classic
writers spoke of it as a web woven
by the Fates. We can all feel the
force of the comparison here used by
Job, that the days which we live fly
swift away. How rapidly is one
after another added to the web of
life ! How soon will the whole web
be filled up, and life be closed ! A
few more shoots of the shuttle and
all will be over, and our life will be
cut otT, as the weaver removes one
web from the loom to make way for
another. How important to improve
the fleeting moments, and to live as
if we were soon to see the rapid
shuttle flying for the last time! ^i And
are spent icithout hope. Without
hope of recovery, or of future happi-
ness on earth. It does not mean that
he had no hope of happiness in the
world to come. But such were his
trials here, and so entirely had his
comforts been removed, that he had
no prospect of again enjoying life.

7. O remember. This is evidently
an address to God. In the anguish
of his soul Job turns his eye and his
heart to his Maker, and urges reasons
why he should close his life. The
extent of his sufferings, and the cer-
tainty that he must die (vs. 9, 10), arc
the reasons on which he dwells why
his life should be closed, and he re-
leased. The language is respectful,
but it is the expression of deep an-
guish and sorrow. H That my life is
wind. Life is often compared with a
vapor, a shadow, a breath. The
language denotes that it is frail, and

CHAPTER VII.

115

8 The eye ofhim that hath seen
me shall see me no more : thine
eyes «re upon me, and I ' a??i not.

9 As the cloud is consumed
and vanisheth away ; so he that

1 i. e. lean livcnolonrrcr.

Boon passed — as the breeze blows
upon us, and soon passes by. Comp.
Ps. Ixviii. 39 :

For lie remembered that they were out flesh ;
A wind that passeth away and cometh not

again.

IT Mine eye shall 7io more. Marg.
as in Heb. not return. The idea is,
that if he was cut off, he would
not return again to behold the
pleasant scenes of this life. H See
good. Marg. To see., i. e. to enjoy.
The sense is, that he would no more
be permitted to look upon the things
which now so much gratified the
sight, and gave so much pleasure.
There is some resemblance here to
the feelings expressed by Hezekiah
in his appreliension of death. See
Notes on Isa. xxxviii. 10, 11.

8. TJie eye of him that hath seen
me shall see me no more. I shall be
cut off from all my friends — one of
the things which most distresses men
when they come to die. H Thine
eyes are upon me, and /am not. See
x'er. 21. Dr. Good renders this, " let
thine eye be upon me, and I am
nothing." Herder, " thine eye will
seek me, but I am no more." Accord-
ing to this the sense is, that he was
soon to be removed from the place
where he had dwelt, and that should
he be sought there he could not be
found. He would seem to represent
God as looking for him, and not find-
ing him. See ver. 21. Tiie margin
has, " I can live no longer." It may
be possible that this is the meaning,
tjiat God had fixed an intense gaze
upon him, and that he could not sur-
vive '.t. If tliis is the sense, then it
accords with the descriptions given
of the majesty of God everywhere
in the Scriptures — that nothing could
endure his presence, that even the
earth trembles, and the mountains

goeth down to the grave shall
come up no more.

10 He " shall return no more
to his house, neither shall his
place know him any more.

a Vs. 49. 12 14.

melt away, at liis touch. Thus in
Ps. civ. 32 :

He looketh on the earth, and it trenibleth j
He toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

Compare the representation of the
power of the eye in Job xvi. 9 :

Ho teareth me in his wrath who hateth me ;
He gnasheth upon me with his teeth ;
Mine enemy sharpcneth his eyes upon me.

On the whole, I think it probable that
this is the sense here. There is an
energy in the original which is greatly
enfeebled in the common translation.
God had fixed his eyes upon Job, and
he at once disappeared. Comp. Rev.
XX. 11 : " And I saw a great white
throne, and him that sat upon it,
from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away, and there was
found no place for them."

9. As the cloud is consumed and
vanisheth away. This image is taken
from the light and fleecy clouds,
which become smaller and smaller
until they wholly vanish. For an
illustration of a similar phrase, see
Notes on Isa. xliv. 22. U To the
grave — ?1J<^, Sheol. Sept. elq uStjv^
to Hades. The word may mean
grave, or the place of departed
spirits. See Notes on Isa. v. 14,
xiv. 9. Comp. Notes on Job cb. x.
21, 22. Either signification will
apply here. IT Shall come up no
more. Shall no more live on the
earth. It would be pressing this
too far to adduce it as proving that
Job did not believe in the doctrine of
the resurrection. The connection
here requires us to understand him as
meaning only that he would not ap-
pear again on the earth.

10. He shall return no more to his
oicn house. He shall not revisit his
family. Job is dwelling on the cala-
mity of death, and one of the circum-
stances most deeply felt in the pros-

116

JOB.

11 Therefore I will not re-
frain my mouth ; I will speak in
the anguish of my spirit ; I will

pect of death is, that a man must
leave his own house to return no
more. The stately palaces that he
has built ; the splendid halls which
he has adorned ; the chamber where
he slept ,; the cheerful fireside where
he met his family ; the place at
the table which he occupied, he will
revisit no more. His tread will be
no more heard ; his voice will no
more awaken delight in the happy
family group ; the father and husband
returning from his daily toil will no
more give pleasure to the joyous
circle. Such is death. It removes
us from all earthly comforts, takes
us away from home and kindred —
from children and friends, and bids
us go alone to an unknown world.
Job felt that it was a sad and gloomy
thing. And so it is, unless there is a
well founded hope of a better world.
It is the gospel only that can make
us willing to leave our happy dwell-
ings, and the embraces of kindred
and friends, and to tread the lonely
path to the regions of the dead. The
friend of God has a brigliter home in
heaven. He has more numerous
and better friends there. He has
there a more splendid and happy
mansion than any here on earth. He
will be engaged in more blissful
scenes there, than can be enjoyed by
the most happy fireside here ; will
have more cheerful employments
there, than any which can be found
on earth ; and will have higher and
purer pleasures there, than can be
found in parks, and lawns, and land-
scapes; in splendid halls, in music,
and the festive board ; in literary pur-
suits, and in the love of kindred.
How far Job had the means of conso-
lation from such reflections as these,
it is not easy now to determine. The
probability, however, is, that his
views were comparatively dim and
obscure.

11. Therefore I will not refrain my

complain in the bitterness of my
soul.

12 Am I a sea, or a whale,

mouth. The idea in this verse is,
' such is my distress at the prospect
of dying, that I cannot but express it.
The idea of going away from all my
comforts, and of being committed to
the grave, to revisit the earth no
more, is so painful that I cannot but
give vent to my feelings.'

12. Am / a sea? That is, ' am I
like a raging and tumultuous sea,
that it is necessary to restrain and
confine me .''' The sense of the
verse is, that God had treated him as
if he were untamable and turbulent,
as if he were like the restless ocean,
or as if he were some monster, which
could be restrained within proper
limits only by the stern exercise of
power. Dr. Good, following Reiske,
renders this, " a savage beast," un-
derstanding by the Hebrew word
2^ a sea-monster instead of the sea
itself, and then any ferocious beast, as
the wild buffalo. But it is clear, I
think, that the word never has this
meaning. It means properly the sea ;
then a lake or inland sea, and then it
is applied to any great I'iver that
spreads out like the ocean. Thus
it is applied both to the Nile, and to
the Euphrates. See Notes on Isa. xi.
15, xix. 5. Herder here renders it,
"the river and its crocodile," and
this it seems to me is probably the
meaning. Job asks whether he is
like the Nile, overflowing its banks,
and rolling on impetuously to the
sea, and, unless restrained, sweeping
every thing away. Some such flood
of waters, and not a savage beast, is
undoubtedly intended here, fl Or a
ichale, '■pir],te?mm. Jerome, cetus —
a whale. The LXX render it, dody.oo',
a dragon. The Chaldee paiaphrases
it, "Am I condemned as the Egyp-
tians were, who were condemned and
submerged in the Red Sea; or as
Pharaoh, who was drowned in the
midst of it, in his sing, that thou
placest over me a guard''" Herder

CHAPTER Vll.

117

that thou settest a watch over
me?

13 When I say, My bed shall
comfort me, my couch shall ease
my complaint :

14 Then thou scarest me with

renders it, "the crocodile." On the
meaning of the word, see Notes on
Isa. xiii. 22, li. 9. It refers here
probably to a crocodile, or some sim-
ilar monster, that was found either in
the Nile or in the branches of the
Red Sea. There is no evidence that
it means a whale. Harmer (Obs. iii.
536, Ed. Lond. 1808) supposes that
the crocodile is meant, and observes
that " Crocodiles are very terrible to
the inhabitants of Egypt ; when,
therefore, they appear, they watch
them with great attention, and take
proper precautions to secure them, so
as that they should not be able to
avoid the deadly weapons the Egyp-
tians afterwards make use of to kill
them." According to this, the
expression in Job refers to the anx-
ious care which is evinced by the
inhabitants of countries where croco-
diles abound to destroy them. Every
opportunity would be anxiously
watched for, and great solicitude
would be manifested to take their
lives. In countries, too, which were
subject to inundation from waters,
great anxiety would be evinced. The
rising waters would be carefully
watched, lest they should burst over
all barriers, and sweep away fences,
houses, and towns. Such a constant
vigilance Job represents the Almighty
as keeping over him — watching him
as if he were a swelling, roaring, and
ungovernable torrent, or as if he were
a frightful monster of the deep, whom
he was anxious to destroy. In both
respects the language is forcible, and
in both instances scarcely less irrev-
erent than it is forcible. For a de-
scription of the crocodile, see Notes
on ch. xli.

13. When I say, My bed shall com-
fort me. The idea in this verse and

dreams, and terrifiest me throuo-h
visions :

15 So that my soul chooseth
strancrling, and death rather than

my ' life.

1 bones.

the following is, that there was no
intermission to his sorrows. Even
the times when men usually sought
repose were to him times of distress.
Then he was disturbed and alarmed
by the most frightful dreams and vis-
ions, and sleep fled from him. IT Shall
case my complaint. The word ren-
dered " shall ease " (^">^'?) means
rather, shall bear; that is, shall
lighten or sustain. The meaning is,
that he sought relief on his bed.

14. Theji thou scarest me. This is
an address to God. He regarded him
as the source of his sorrows, and he
expresses his sense of this in language
indeed very beautiful, but far from
reverence. IT With dreams. See ver.
4. A similar expression occurs in
Ovid :

Ut puto, cum requies medicinaque publica
curse,

Somnus adest, solitis nox A^enit orba malis,
Soninia me terrent, veros imitantia casu.s,

Et vigilant sensn.-^ in mea damna mei.

De Pont.., Lib. i. EUg. 2.
IF Jlnd terrifiest vie through visions.
See Notes on ch. iv. 13. This refers
to the visions of the fancy, or to
frightful appearances in the night.
The belief of such night-visions was
common in the early ages, and Job
regarded them as under the direction
of God, and as being designed to
alarm him.

15. So that my soul. So that /;
the soul being put for himself. IT
Chooseth strangling. Dr. Good ren-
ders it "suffocation," and supposes
that Job alludes to the oppression of
breathing, produced by what is com-
monly called the night-mare, and that
he means that he would prefer the
sense of suffocation excited at such
a time to the terrible images before
his mind. Herder renders it, death.
Jerome, suspcndium. The LXX,

118

JOB.

16 I *" loathe it ; I would not

a c. 10 1. 20.

»' Thou separatest (a/raJJ.a^ft?) my
life from my spirit, and my bones
from death;" but what idea they
attached to it, it is impossible now to
tell. The Syriac renders it, " Thou

choosest (y-^^r^^ my soul from per-
dition, and my bones from death."
The word rendered strangling
(P^n^) is from p^H, to be narrow,
strait, close ; and then means to
strangle, to throttle, Neh. ii. 13.
2 Satn. xvii. 23. Here it means
death ; and Job designs to say that he
would prefer even the most violent
kind of death to the life that he was
then leading. I see no evidence that
tlie idea suggested by Dr. Good is to
be found in the passage. H And death
rather than my life. 3Iarg. as in He-
brew, hones. There has been great
variety in the exposition of this part
of the verse. Herder renders it,
" death rather than this frail body."
RosenmUller and Noyes, " death
rather than my bones;" that is, he
preferred death to such an emaciated
body as he then had, to the wasted
skeleton which was then all that he
had left to him. This is probably the
true sense. Job was a sufferer in
body and in soul. His flesh was
wasting away, his body was covered
with ulcers, and his mind was ha-
rassed with apprehensions. By day
he had no peace, and at night he was
terrified by alarming visions and spec-
tres ; and he preferred death in any
form to such a condition.

16. I loathe it. I loathe my life as
it is now. It has become a burden,
and I desire to part with it, and to go
down to the grave. There is, how-
ever, considerable variety in the
interpretation of this. Noyes renders
it, " I am wasting away." Dr. Good
connects it with the previous verse,
and understands by it, " death in
comparison with my sufferings do I
despise." The Syriac is, ^^ iwi^^uo

live alway : let me alone ; fof
my days are vanity.

— it fails to me, i. e. I fail, or my
powers are wasting away. But the
Hebrew word tJX^ means properly
to loathe and contemn (See Note on
ch. vii. 5), and the true idea here is
expressed in the common version.
The sense is, ' my life is painful and
offensive, and I wish to die ' H /
'would not live alway. As Job used
this expression, there was doubtless
somewhat of impatience and of an
improper spirit. Still it contains a
very important sentiment, and one
that may be expressed in the higlicst
state of just religious feeling. A man
who is prepared for heaven should
not and will not desire to live Iiere
always. It is better to depart and to
be with Christ, better to leave a world
of imperfection and sin, and to go to
a world of purity and love. On this
text, fully and beautifully illustrating
its meaning, the reader may consult
a sermon by Dr. Dwight. Sermons,
Edinburgh, 1828, vol. ii. 275, srq.
This world is full of temptations and
of sin ; it is a world where suffering
abounds; it is the infancy of our
being; it is a place where our know-
ledge is imperfect, and where the af-
fections of the best are comparatively
grovelling ; it is a world where the
good are often persecuted, and where
the bad are triumphant ; and it is
better to go to abodes where all these
will be unknown. Heaven is a more
desirable place in which to dwell
than the earth ; and if we had a clear
view of that world, and proper desires,
we should pant to depart and to be
there. Most men live as though they
wonld live always here if they could
do it, and multitudes are forming
their plans as if they expected thus to
live. They build their houses and
form their plans as if life were never
to end. It is the privilege of the
Christian, however, to expect to die.
Not wishing to live always here, he
forms his plans with the anticipation
that all which he has must soon he

CHAPTER VII.

119

17 What " zs man, that thou
shouldest magnify him ? and

a Ps. 8.4.

left ; and he is ready to louse his hold
on the world the moment the sum-
mons comes. So may we live ; so liv-
ing, it will be easy to die. The senti-
ments suggested bj this verse have
been so beautifully versified in a
hymn by Muhlenberg, that I will
copy it here :

I would not live alway; I ask not to stay
Where storm after storm rises dark o'er the

way ; [here

The few fleetinsf mornings that dawn on us
Are enough for life's sorrows — enough for its

cheer.

I would not I've alway ; no, welcome the tomh ;
Since Jesus hath lain there, I dread not its

gloom ;
There sweet he my rest, till he bid me arise,
To hail him in triumph descending the skies.

Who, who would live alway, away from his

God,
Away from yon heaven, that blissful abode,
Where rivers of pleasure flow o'er the bright

plains,
And the noontide of gloiy eternally reigns ?

W'here the saints of all ages in harmony meet.
Their Saviour and brethren transported to

greet ;
While anthems of rapture unceasingly roll.
And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the

soul.

If Let Vie alone. This is an address
to God. It means, 'cease to afflict
me. Suffer me to live out my little
length of life with some degree of
ease. It is short at best, and I have
no desire that it should always con-
tinue.' This sentiment he illustrates
in the following verses. M For my
days are vanity. They are as no-
thing, and are unworthy the notice of
Cod. Life is a trifle, ard I am not
anxious that it should be prolonged.
Why then may I not be suffered to
pass my few days without being thus
afflic*ed and pained ?

17. What is man, that thou shouldest
magnify him? That thou shouldst
make him great, or that thou shouldst
regard him as of so great importance
as to fix thine eye attentively upon
him. The idea here is, that it was
unworthy the character of so great
a being as God to bestow so much

that thou shouldest set thine
heart upon him ?

time and attention on a creature so
insignificant as man ; and especially
that man could not be of so much
importance that it was necessary for
God to watch all his defects with
vigilance, and take special pains to
mark and punish all his offences.
This question might be asked in
another sense, and with another view.
Man is so insignificant compared with
God, that it may be asked why he
should so carefully provide for his
wants.'' Why make so ample provis-
ion for his welfare ? Why institute
measures so amazing and so wonder-
ful for his recovery from sin ? The
answers to all these questions must
be substantially the same. (1.) It is
a part of the great plan of a conde-
scending God. No insect is so small
as to be beneath his notice. On the
humblest and feeblest animalcula a
care is bestowed in its formation and
support as if God had nothing else
to regard or provide for. (2.) Man is
of importance. He has an immortal
soul, and the salvation of that soul is
iDorth all which it costs, even vi^hen
it costs the blood of the Son of God.
(3.) A creature who sins, ahcays
makes himself of importance. The
murderer has an importance in the
view of the community which he
never had before. All good citizens
become interested to arrest and pun-
ish him. There is no more certain
way for a man to give consequence
to liimself, than to violate the laws,
and to subject himself to punishment.
An offending member of a family haa
an importance which he had not
before, and all eyes are turned to him
with deep interest. So it is with
man — a part of the great family of
God. (4.) A sufferer is a being of
importance, and man as a sufferer is
worthy of the notice of God. How-
ever feeble may be the powers of any
one, or humble his rank, yet if he
suffers, and especially if he is likely
to suffer forever, he becomes at one*

J 20

JOB.

18 Anu that thou shouldest
visit him every morning, and try
him every moment ?

an object of the highest importance.
Such is man ; a sufferer here, and
liable to eternal pain hereafter ; and
hence the God of mercy has inter-
posed to visit him, and to devise a
way to rescue him from his sorrows,
and from eternal death. Tlie Syriac
renders this, ' What is man that thou

shouldstfl?e5^ro?/him' — u^ctq.> -.ioZ?
— but the Hebrew means, ' to mag-
nify him, to make him great or of
importance ' IF Tliat thou shouldest
set thine heart npon him ? Not with
■affection, but to punish him — for so
The expression in this connection
evidently means. The phrase itself
rMi.:jht mean, 'Why shouldst thou
lo ^him ?' — implying that tliere was
not ng in a creature so insignificant
that ould render him a proper object
of the divine regard. But as used
here by Job it means, ' ^Vhy dost
thou fix thy attention upon him so
closely — marking the slightest of-
fence, and seeming to take a special
pleasure in inflicting pain and tor-
ture ?' The Psalmist makes use of
almost the same language, and not
improbably copied it from this, though
he employs it in a somewhat different
sense. As used by him, it means that
it was wonderful that the God who
made the heavens should condescend
to notice a creature so insignificant
as man.

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy
fingers 5

The moon and the stars, which thou hast or-
dained ;

What is man that thou art mindful of him.-*

And the son of man that thou visitest him.''

Ps. viii. 3,4.

18. JJnd that thou shouldest visit
him? That is, for the purpose of
inflicting pain. This language Job
intends undoubtedly to be applicable
to himself, and he asks with impa-
tience why God should take a plea-
sure in visiting with suffering each
returning day a creature like him .?

19 How long wilt thou not
depart from me, nor let me alone
till I swallow down my spittle 1

U Every viorning. V/hy is there no
intermission even for a day .? Why
does not God allow one morning, or
one moment, to pass without inflicting
pain on a creature so feeble and so
frail .? H ^nd try him. Or, prove
him : to wit, by afflictions. U Every
moment. Constantly ; without inter-
mission.

19. Hoic long icilt thou not depart
How long is this to continue ? The
same word occurs in ch. xiv. 6. The
word rendered '•'' depart^' (ns'^)
means to look, to look around, and
then to look away from any one or
any thing. The idea here is, that
God had fixed his eyes upon Job, and
he asks with anxiety, how long this
was to continue, and when he would
turn his eyes away. Comp. Notes on
ver. 8. Schultens supposes that the
metaphor here is taken from combat-
ants, who never take their eyes from
their antagonists. IT Till I swalloin
doicn my spittle. For the shortest
time. But there has been considera-
ble variety in the explanation of this
phrase. Herder renders it, "Till I
draw my breath." Noyes, "Till I
have time to breathe ;" but he ac-
knowledges that he has substituted
this for the proverb which occurs in
the original. The Hebrew is liter-
ally rendered in the common version,
and the proverb is retained in Arabia
to the present day. The meaning is,
Give me a little respite ; allow me a
little time ; as we would say, Suff'er
me to breathe. "This," says Bur-
der, "is a proverb among the Ara-
bians to the present day, by which
they understand. Give me leave to
rest after my fatigue.- This is the
favor which Job complains is not
granted to him. There are two instan-
ces which illustrate this passage
(quoted by Schultens) in Harris's
Narratives entitled the Assembly.
One is of a person, wlio, when eager-
ly pressed to give an account of hia

CHAPTER VII.

121

20 I have sinned ; " what
shall I do unto thee, O thou

a Vs. 80. 4. b Ps. 36. 6. c La. 3. 12.

\i-avcls, answered with impatience,
Let me swallow down my spittle,
•br my journey liath fatigued me.'
The other instance is of a quick re-
turn made to a person who used the
proverb. ' Suifer me,' said the person
importuned, ' to swallow down my
spittle ;' to which the friend replied,
'You may, if you please, swallow
down even the Tigris and the Eu-
phrates ;' that is. You may take what
time you please." The expression
is proverbial, and corresponds to ours
when we say, ' in the twinkling of
an eye,' or, ' till \ can catch my
breath ;' that is, in the briefest in-
terval. Job addresses this language
to God. There is much impatience
in it, and much that a pious man
should not employ ; but we are to
remember that Job was beset with
peculiar trials, and that he had not
the views of the divine existence and
perfections, the promises and the high
hopes, which as Christians we have
under the fuller light of revelation;
and before harshly condemning him
we should put ourselves in his situa-
* -n, and ask ourselves how ice would
likely to think and feel and speak
if we were in the same circumstan-
ces.

20. / have sinned, ^r^'^'^U. This
is a literal translation, and as it stands
in the common version it is the lan-
guage of a penitent — confessing that
he had erred, and making humble
acknowledgment of his sins. That
such a confession became Job, and
that he would be willing to admit
tlutt he was a sinner, there can be
no doubt; but the connection seems
rather to require a different sense — a
sense implying that though he had
sinned, yet his offences could not be
such as to require the notice which
God had taken of them. Accord-
ingly this interpretation has been
adopted by many, and the Hebrew
will bear the construction. It may

Preserver ^ c^f men ? v^hy hast thou
set me as a mark '' against thee,
so that I am a burden to myself?

be rendered as a question, " Have I
sinned; what did I against thee.''"
Herder. Or, the 'sense may be, ' I
have sinned. I admit it. Let this
be conceded. But what can that be
to a being like God, that he should
take such notice of it .'' Have I in-

jure

d h

Have I deserved these

heavy trials 1 Is it proper that he
should make me a special mark, and
direct his severest judgments against
me in this manner.?' Comp. Notes
on ch. XXXV. 6-8. The Syriac ren-
ders it in this manner, ' If I have

sinned (^-».^ . ]), what have I

done to thee ?' So the Arabic, accord-
ing to Walton. So the LXX, Ei tyo)
■rj/Liaornv — ' if I have sinned.' This
expresses the true sense. The object
is not so much to make a penitent
confession, as it is to say, that on the
worst construction of the case, on the
admission of the truth of the charge,
he had not deserved the severe in-
flictions which he had received at
the hand of God. IF What shall I do
unto thee? Or, rather, what hare I
done unto thee ? How can my con-
duct seriously affect thee ? It will
not mar thy happiness, affect thy
peace, or in any way injure a being
so great as God. This sentiment is
often felt by men — but not often so
honestly expressed. IT 0 thou Pre-
server of men. Or, rather, ' O thou
that dost icatch or observe men.' The
word rendered < Preserver' p^3) is a
participle from "^^J, which means,
according to Gesenius, to watch, to
guard, to keep, and is here used in
the sense of observing one's faults ;
and the idea of Job is, that God
closely observed the conduct of men ;
that he strictly marked their faults,
and severely punished them; and he
asks with impatience, and evidently
with improper feeling, why he thus
closely watched men. So it is under-
stood by Schultens, RosenmOller,

122

JOB.

21 And why dost thou not
pardon my transgression, and
take away " mine iniquity ? for

a Mi. 7. 18, 19. 1 .Ino. 1. 9.

Dr. Good, Noyes, Herder, Kenni-
cott, and others. The LXX render
it, " who knowest the mind of men ?"
H JVhij hast thou set me as a mark ?
The word rendered " mark" C"?^"^)}
means properly that which one im-
pinges against — from "^Q, to impinge
against, to meet, to rush upon any
one — and here means, why has God
made me such an object of attack
or assault.^ The LXX render it,
xrtTf ;'Tf I'/cr^/j' oois ' an accuser of thee.'
l[ So that I am a burden to myself.
The LXX render this, ^nl ool
rpnoT(or, a htirden to thee. The copy
from which they translated evidently
had ^\'\:^^—io thee, instead of ■^^^—
to me, as it is now read in the
Hebrew. " The Masorites also place
this among the eighteen passages
which they say were altered by
transcribers." jYoyes. But the re-
ceived text is sustained by all the
versions except the LXX, and by all
the Hebrew MSS. hitherto examined,
and is doubtless the true reading.
The sense is plain, that life had be-
come a burden to Job. He says that
God had made him the special object of
his displeasure, and that his condition
was insupportable. That there is
much in this language which is ir-
reverent and improper no one can
doubt, and it is not possible wholly to
vindicate it. Nor are we called to
do it by any view which we have of
the nature of inspiration. He was a
good, but not a perfect man. These
expressions are recorded, not for our
imitation, but to show what liuman
nature is. Before harshly condemn-
ing him, however, we should ask
what we would be likely to do in his
circumstances ; we should remember
also, that he had few of the truths
and promises to support him which we
have.

21. JInd why dost thou not pardon

now shall I sleep in tne dust;
and thou shalt seek me in the
morning, but I ^ shall not be.

b Ps. 103. 15.

my transgression ? Admitting that I
have sinned (ver. 20), yet why dost
thou not forgive me .'' I shall soon
pass away from the land of the
living. I may be sought, but I shall
not be found. No one would be in-
jured by my being pardoned — since I
am so short-lived, and so unimportant
in the scale of being. No one can
be benefited by pursuing a creature
of a day, such as I am, with punish-
ment. Such seems to be the mean-
ing of this verse. It is the language
of complaint, and is couched in
language filled with irreverence.
Still it is language such as awakened
and convicted sinners ofte-n use, and
expresses the feelings which often
pass through their hearts. They
admit that they are sinners. They
know that they must be pardoned or
they cannot be saved. They are dis-
tressed at the remembrance of guilt,
and under this state of mind, deeply
convicted and distressed, they ask
with a murmuring spirit xohy God
does not pardon them .'' Why does
he allow them to remain in this state
of agitation, suspense, and deep dis-
tress .'' Who could be injured by
their being forgiven .'' Of what con-
sequence to others can it be that they
should not be forgiven .'' How can
God be benefited by his not pardon-
ing them .'' It may not be easy to an-
swer these questions in a manner
wholly satisfactory ; but perhaps the
following may be some of the reasons
why Job had not the evidence of for-
giveness which he now desired, and
why the convicted sinner has not.
The main reason is, that they are not
in a state of mind to make it proper
to forgive them. (I.) There is a feel-
ing that they have a claim on God
for pardon, or that it would be wrong
for God not to pardon them. When
men feel that they have a claim on
God for pardon, they cannot be for-

CHAPTER VII.

133

given. The very notion of pardon
implies that it must be when there is
no claim existing or felt. (2.) There
is no proper submission to God — to
his views, his terms, his phm. In
order that pardon may be extended to
tlio guilty, there sliould be acquies-
cence in God's own terms, and time,
and mode. The sinner must resign
himself into his hands, to be forgiven
or not as he pleases — feeling that the
whole question is lodged in his bosom,
and that if he should ?wt forgive,
still he would be right, and his throne
would be pure. In particular, under
the Christian method of pardon, there
must be entire acquiescence in the
plan of salvation by the Lord Jesus
Christ ; a willingness to accept of
forgiveness, not on the ground of
personal claim, but on the ground of
his merits ; and it is because the con-
victed sinner is not willing to be par-
doned in this way, tliat he remains un-
forgiven. There should be a feeling,
also, that it wouhl be right for God
to pardon others, if he pleases, even
though ice are not saved ; and it is
often because the convicted sinner is
not willing that that should be done,
because he feels that it would be
icrong in God to save others and not
him^ that he is not forgiven. The
sinner is often suftered to remain in
this state until he is brought to
acquiesce in the right of a sovereign
God to save whom he pleases. (3.)
There is a murmurittg spirit — and
that is a reason why the sinner is not
forgiven. That was manifestly the
case with Job ; and when that exists,
how can God forgive .'' How can a
parent pardon an offending child,
when he is constantly complaining of
his injustice and of the severity of
his government.' This very spirit is
a new offence, and a new reason why
he should be punished. So the
awakened sinner murmurs. He com-
plains of the government of God as
too severe ; of his law, as too strict;
of his dealings, as harsh and unkind.
He complains of his sufferings, and
thinks they are wholly beyond his
t'fiserts. lie complains of the doc-

trines of the Bible as mysterious, in-
comprehensible, and unjust. In this
state how can he be forgiven .'' God
often suffers the awakened sinner,
therefore, to remain under conviction
for sin, until he is willing to acquiesco
in all his claims, and to submit with-
out a murmur ; and then, and not till
then, he extends forgiveness to the
guilty and troubled spirit. H For
nozD shall I sleep in the dust. On the
word sleep, as applied to death, see
Notes ch. iii. 13. The meaning is,
that he was soon to die. He urges
the shortness of the time which re-
mained to him as a reason why his
afflictions should be lightened, and
why he should be pardoned. If God
had any thing that he could do for
him, it must be done soon. But only
a brief period remained, and Job
seems to be impatient lest the whole
of his life should be gone, and he
should sleep in the dust without evi-
dence that iiis sins were pardoned.
Olympiodorus, as quoted by Rosen-
miiller, expresses the sense in the
following manner: "If, therefore, I
am so short-lived [or momentar}'
fT()oay.aionq] and obnoxious to death,
and must die after a short time, and
shall no more arise, as if from sleep,
why dost not thou suffer the little
space of life to be free from punish-
ment.''" TT j^nd thou shalt seek vie in
the morning., but /shall nothe That
is, thou shalt seek to find me after I
have slept in the dust, as if with the
expectation that I should wake, but I
shall not be found. My sleep will
be perpetual, and I shall no more re-
turn to the land of the living. The
idea seems to be, that if God were to
show him any favor, it must be done
soon. His death, which miisl happen
soon, would put it out of the power
even of God to show him mercy on
earth, if he should relent and be inclin
ed to favor him. He seems not to doubt
that God would be disposed yet to
show him favor; that he would be
inclined to pardon him, and to relax
the severity of his dealings with him,
but he says that if it were done it
must be done soon, and seems to

124

JOB.

apprehend tliat it would be delayed
so long that it could not be done.
The phrase 'in the morning' here is
used witli reference to the sleep which
he liad just mentioned. We sleep
at night, and awake and arise in the
morning. Job says it would not be
so with him in the sleep of death.
He would awake no more ; he could
no more be found. — In this chapter
tliere is much language of bitter com-
plaint, and nuich which we cannot
justify. It should not be taken as a
model for our language when we are
afdicted, though Job may have only
expressed what has passed through
the heart of many an afflicted child
of God. We should not judge him
harslily. Let us ask ourselves how
ICC would have done if we had been
in similar circumstances. Let us re-
member that he had comparatively
few of the promises which we have
to comfort us, and fevv' of the elevated
views of truth as made known by re-
velation, which we have to uphold us
in trial. Let us be thankful that
when we suffer, promises and conso-
lations meet us on every hand. The
Bible is open before us — rich with

truth, and bright with promise. Lei
us remember that death is not as dark
and dismal to us as it was to the pious
in the time of the patriarchs — nd
that the grave is not now to us as
dark, and chilly, and gloomy, and
comfortless an abode. To their view-,
the shadow of death cast a melan-
choly chillness over all the regions
of the dead ; to us the tomb is en-
lightened by Christian hope- The
empire of Death has been invaded,
an<] his power has been taken av/ay.
Light has been shed around the
tomb, and the grave to us is the
avenue to imm.ortal life ; the pathway
on which tlie lamp of salvation
shines, to eternal glory. Let us not
complain, therefore, when we are
afflicted, as if the blessing were long
delayed, or as if it could not be con-
ferred should we soon die. If with-
held here, it will be imparted in a
better world, and we should be will-
ing to bear trials in this short life,
with the sure promise that God will
meet and bless us when we pass the
confines of life, and enter the world
of glory.

CHAPTER VIII.

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER.

This chapter cont;iins the first, reply which Bildad makes to Job. He is more severe and less
iir^iumcntative than Eliphaz. Jahn, as quoted by the editor of the Pictorial Bible, thus charac
torizes him : " Bildad, le.ss discerning and less polished than Eliphaz. breaks out at first into
accusations against Job, and increases in vehemence as he proceeds. In the end, however, he
is reduced to a meio repetition of his former arguments " Dr. Hales characterizes this speech,
not unjustly, as •' unkind." Dr. Good remarks that he commences his speech " witli most
provokmg cruelty." There is evidently much harshness in the language, and much severity of
leproof. " He pursues s nhs can ti ally the same line of argumentation which Eliphaz had com-
menced, but he dees it with much more severity. He takes it for granted, that the children of
Job had sinnod, and that they had been cut off on account of their crimes. Assuming that Job
and his family had been guilty of great sins, the driTtofthe discourse is, to exhort him to repent
and to humble himself before" God. The speech comprises the following points: —

1. He con)pares the speech of Job to a sweeping and violent tempest which prostrates all
Before it. How long, he asks, is this to continue ? ver. 2.

2. He asks with earnestness wliethor the Almighty could pervert justice, as Job seems to
have supposed .' And in this question he implies, in the strongest manner, that God was just and
right, ver. 3.

3. He takes it for granted that the cLiMren of Job had sinned, and that God had cut them

CHAPTER VIII.

1^

down in their iniquity (ver. 4J ; but yet says, that if Job was an upright man, and would seek God
in a humble and reverent manner, his favor might yet he obtained, and he would make his
habitation prosperous, vs. 5-7. Though he should begin life again with none but himself, yet
his end would be prosperous, and he would be blessed with a large inciease. This part of the
Bpeech must have been particulaily trying to Job. The assiiinptitm that his children had been
cut dov.n unpardoned, was one which would go at once to the heart of the much atflicted father,
and greatly aggravate his sorrows.

4. In support of his views, Bildad appeals to the ancients, and especially to those who had
lived much longer than they had done, and who had had an opportunity for more extended
observation. He quotes from some ancient poem, representing by striking images the miserable
condition of the wicked. The images in that ancient document are taken from what is observed
in natuie. The most succulent plants are soonest withered ; and, in like manner, the hope of
the hypocrite would soon fail, vs. 8-lS.

5. He concludes by saying that God would not cast away a perfect man, and by stating the
happy effects which would result from putting confidence in God, vs. 19-22. Bildad thus agrees
substantially with Eliphaz in the opinion that Job was a hypocrite, and that it was for his sins
that he had been putiished in tliis manner. There is great severity in his remarks, and much
t!iat is unkind in his manner, and uncharitable in his views. There is less, too, that is argu-
mentative than in the speech of t^liphaz. Yet there is a beautiful appeal to the past (vs. 11, seq.) ;
and if this is a fragment of a former poem, it is probably the oldest on record.

^pHEN answered Bildad the
-^ Shiihite, and said,

2 How long wilt thou speak
these things ? and hoio long shall
the words of thy mouth he like a
strong wind ?

3 both " God pervert judg-

1. Then answered, Bildad the Shu-
hite. See Notes, ch. ii. 11.

2. How long wilt thou speak these
things ? The things of murmuring
and complaint, such as he had uttered
in the previous chapters. II The
icords of thy month be like a strong
^oind? The Syriac and Arabic (ac-
cording to Walton) render this, 'the
spirit of pride fill thy mouth.' The
LXX render it, 'The spirit of thy
mouth is profuse of words ' — tzoIvo-
()rj/tor. But the common rendering
is undoubtedly correct, and the ex-
pression is a very strong and beauti-
ful one. His language of complaint
and murmuring was like a tempest.
It swept over all barriers, and disre-
garded all restraint. The same figure
is found in Aristophanes, Ran. 872,
as quoted by Schultens, Tvcpoyq tx^aC-
reii' Tiaoaoy.^vd^frai, — a tempest of
tcords is preparing to burst forth.
And in Silius Italicus, ix. 581 :

qui tanta superbo

Facta sonas ore, et spumanti turbine perflas
Ignorantum aures.

The Chaldec renders it correctly,
Xan ^^B?.l — a great tempest.

ment ? or doth the Almighty
pervert justice?

4 If thy children have sinned
against him, and he have cast
them away * for their transgres-
sion ;

a Be. 32. 4. 2 Ch, 19. 7. c. 34. 12. 17. Ts. 89.
14. Da. 9. 14. Ro. 3. 5, C. 1 in the hand of their.

3. Doth God pervert judgment?
That is, Does God afflict men unjust-
ly ? Does he show favor to the evil,
and punish the good .'' Bildad here
undoubtedly refers to Job, and sup-
poses that he had brought this charge
against God. But he had not done it
in so many words. He had com-
plained of the severity of his suffer-
ings, and had indulged in irreverent
language towards God. But he had
not advanced the charge openly that
God had perverted right. Bildad
strenuously maintains that God would
do right. His argument is based
on the supposition that God would
deal with men in this life according
to their character ; and thus he infers
that Job must have been guilty of
some great wickedness, that punish-
ment should come upon him in this
manner.

4. If thy children hate sinned
arrainst him. Bildad here assumes
that the children of Job had been
wicked, and had been cutoff in their
sins. Tliis must have cut him to the
quick, for there was nothing wiiich a
bereaved father would feel more

126

JOB.

5 If " thou wouldest seek un-
to God betimes, and make thy
supplication to the Ahiiighty ;

6 If thou inert pure and up-

a c. 11. 13. 22.23, &c.

acutely than this. The meaning
here is somewhat weakened by the
word "if." The Hebrew CX is rath-
er to be taken in the sense of ^ since'
— assuming it as an indisputable point,
or taking it for granted. It was not
a supposition that if they should now
do it, certain other consequences
would follow ; but the idea is, that
since they had been cut off in their
Bins, if Job would even now seek
God wiih a proper spirit, he might
be restored to prosperity, though his
beginning should be small. Ver. 7.
*fl And he have cast them awaij. Bil-
dad supposes that they had been dis-
owned by God, and had been put to
death. IT For their transgression.
Marg. in the hand of their. The
Hebrew is, hy the hand of their trans-
gression ; i. e. their sin has been the
cause of it, or it has been by the in-
strumentality of their sin. What
foundation Bildad had for this opin-
ion, derived from the life and charac-
ter of the sons of Job, we have no
means of ascertaining. The proba-
bility is, however, that he had learn-
ed in general that they had been cut
off; and that, on the general princi-
ple which he maintained, that God
deals with men in this life according
to their character, he inferred that
tJiey must have been distinguished
for wickedness. Men not unfre-
quently argue in this way when sud-
den calamity comes upon others.

5. Jf thou icouldest seek unto God
betimes. If thou wouldst do it note.
If even on the supposition that your
sons have thus perished, and that
God nas come out in judgment against
yc r fam.'Iy, you would look to God,
you might be ret^tored to favor. The
word rendered '■seek betimes ' (^H^)
means literally to seek in the morn-
ing, to seek early; and then, to make
it the first business. It is derived

right ; surely now he would
awake for thee, and make the
habitation of thy righteousness
prosperous.

from tlie word meaning fl?<ro?-a. ("iHllJ)
and has reference to the early light
of the morning, and hence to an early
seeking. It may be applied to seek-
ing him in early life, or as the first
thing — looking to him immediately
when help is needed, or before we
apply to any one else. Comp. Prov.vii.
15, viii. 17, xiii. 24. Job xxiv. 5. Ps.
Ixiii. 2, Ixxviii. 34. Isa. xxvi. 9. Hos.
V. 15. Comp. the advice of Eliphaz,
ch. V. 8.

6. If thou wert pure and upright.
There is something peculiarly severe
and caustic in this whole speech of
Bildad. He first assumes that the
children of Job were cut off for impi-
ety, and then takes it for granted
that Job himself was not a pure and
upright man. This inference he
seems to have derived partly from
the fact that he had been visited with
so heavy calamities, and partly from
the sentiments which Job had h\n
self expressed. Nothing could . s -
more unjust and severe, however,
than to take it for granted that he was
a hypocrite, and then proceed to ar-
gue as if that were a settled point.
He does not make it a supposition tha
possibly Job might have erred — whic^
would not have been improper ; bi<'£
he proceeds to argue as if it were a
point about which there could be no
hesitation. TT He icould awake for
thee. He would arouse or excite
himself (l^^^) on thy account. The
image is that of arousing one's self
from sleep or inactivity to aid ano-
ther ; and the idea is, that God had,
as it were, slumbered over the calam-
ities of Job, or had suffered them to
come without interposing to prevent
them, but that he would arouse him-
self if Job were pure, and would call
upon him for aid. H And make the
habitation of thy righteousness pros-
perous. That is, if thy habitation

CHAPTER VIII.

127

7 Though thy beginning was
small, yet thy latter end should
greatly increase.

8 For inquire, I pray thee, of
the former age, and prepare thy-

a Ps. 39. 5.

should become righteous now, he
would make it prosperous. Hither-
to, is the idea of Bildad, it has been
a habitation of wickedness. Thy chil-
dren have been wicked, and are now
cut oft'. Thou thyself hast been a
wicked man, and in consequence art
afflicted. If now thou wouklst be-
come pure and seek unto God, then
God would make thy habitation pros-
perous. What could more try the
patience of a sufferer than such cold
and unfeeling insinuations ? And
what could more beautifully illustrate
the nature of true courtesy, than to
sit unmoved and hear such remarks .''
It was by forbearance in such circum-
stances eminently that Job showed
his extraordinary patience.

7. Though thy beginning was S7n all.
On the supposition that the children
of Job had been cut off', his family
now was small. Yet Bildad says,
that if he were to begin life again,
even with so small a family, and in
such depressed and trying circum-
stances, if he were a righteous man
he might hope for returning prosper-
ity. 11 Yet thy latter end. From this,
it is evident that Job was not now
regarded as an old man. He would
still have the prospect of living many
years. Some have supposed, how-
ever, that the meaning here is, that
his former prosperity should appear
small compared with that which he
would hereafter enjoy if he were pure
and righteous. So Noyes and Rosen-
miiller interpret it. But it seems to
me that the former interpretation is
the correct one. Bildad utters a gen-
eral sentiment, that though when a
man begins life he has a small family
and little property, yet if he is an
upright man, he will be prospered
and his possessions will greatly
ncrcase. Comp. en. kAi. 12 : " Jc-

self to the search of their fathers :
9 (For we " are but ojT yester-
day, and know ^ nothing, because
our days upon earth are a " sha-
dow :)

1 not.

b I C. 29. 15.

hovah blessed the latter end of Job
more than the beginning."

8. For inquire thee of the former
age. That is, attend to the results
of observation. Ask the generations
which have passed, and who in their
poems and proverbs have left the
records of their experience. The
sentiment which Bildad proposes to
confirm by this appeal is, that though
the wicked should for a time flourish,
yet they would be cut oft', and that
the righteous, though they may be
for a time afliicted, yet if they seek
God, they will ultimately prosper.
It was common to make these ap-
peals to the ancients. The results of
observation were embodied in prov-
erbs, parables, fables, and fragments of
poems ; and he was regarded as among
the wisest of men who had the fruits
of these observations most at com-
mand. To that Bildad appeals, and
especially, as would appear, to the
fragment of an ancient poem which
he proceeds to repeat, and which,
perhaps, is the oldest poem extant in
any language. IT And jirepare thy-
self. Make an eff'ort, or give diligent
attention to it. f Tu the search of
their fathers. Of the bygone gene-
rations, not only to the age immedi-
ately past, but to fAez'r ancestors. He
would bring the results of the obser-
vation of far-distant ages to confirm
the sentiment which he had advanced.

9. For we are but of yesterday.
That is, we are of short life. We
have had but few opportunities of
observation compared with those who
have gone before ns. There can be
no doubt that Bildad here refers to
the longevity of the antecedent ages
compared with the age of man at the
time when he lived ; and the passage,
therefore, is of importance in order
to fix the date of the poem. It shows

128

JOB.

ihat human life had been reduced in
the time of Job within comparatively
moderate limits, and that an import-
ant change had taken place in its
duration. Tliis reduction began not
'ong after the flood, and was prob-
ably continued gradually until it
readied the present limit of seventy
years. This passage proves that Job
could not have lived in the time of
the greatest longevity of man. Comp.
the Intro. § 3. H And knoio nothing.
Marg. not. So the Hebrew literally,
" we do not know." The sense is,
' we have had comparatively few
opportunities for observation. From
the comparative brevity of our lives,
Vv'e see but little of the course of
events. Our fathers lived through
longer periods, and could mark more
accurately the result of human con-
duct.' One suggestion mav be made
here, perhaps, of considerable import-
ance in explaining the course of
argument in this book. The friends
of Job maintained that the righteous
would be rewarded in this life, and
that the wicked would be overtaken
by calamity. It may seem remarka-
ble that they should have urged this
<o strenuously, when in the actual
<;ourse of events as we now see them,
there appears to be so slender a foun-
dation for it in fact. But may this
not be accounted for by the remark
of Bildad in the verse under consid-
eration .? They appealed to their
fathers. They relied on the results
of experience in those ancient times.
When men lived nine hundred or a
thousand years ; when one generation
was longer than twelve generations
are now, this fact would be much more
likely to occur than as human life is
now ordered. Things would have
time to work themselves right. The
wicked in that long tract of time
would be likely to be overtaken by
disgrace and calamity, and the right-
eous would outlive the detractions
.\nd calumnies of their enemies, and
meet in their old age with the ample
rewards of virtue. Should men now
live through the same long period,
the same thing substantially would

occur. A man's character, wli^ is
remembered at all, is fully establisned
long before a thousand years have
elapsed, and posterity does justice to
the righteous and the wicked. If
men lived during that time instead of
being merely rcmnnhcrcd., the same
thing would be likely to occur. Jus-
tice would be done to character, and
the world would, in general, render
to a man the honor which he de-
served. This fact may have been
obsi;rved in the long lives of the men
before the flood, and the result of
the observation may liave been em-
bodied in proverbs, fragments of
poems, and in traditionary sayings,
and^have been recorded by the sages
of Arabia as indubitable n^axims.
With these maxims they came to the
controversy with Job, and forgetful
of the change necessarily made by
the abbreviation of human life, they
proceed to apply their maxims without
mercy to him ; and because he was
overwhelmed with calamity, they
assumed that therefore he vnist have
been a wicked man. f Our days
upon earth are a shadoic. Compari-
sons of this kind are quite common
in the Scriptures. See Notes on ch,
vii. 6. A similar figure occurs in
1 Chron. xxix. 15 :

For we are strangers before thee,
And sojourners, as were all our fathers
Our days upon earth are as a shadow,
xYea, there is no abiding.

An expression similar occurs in .^s-
chylus, Agam. v. 488, as quoted by
Drusius and Dr. Good:

— u5(.oX')v CTKidi —

— the image or semblance of a shade —

So in Pindar, man is called axidq orao
— the dream of a shade; and so by-
Sophocles, y.aTTvoi) oy.ia — the shadow
of smoke. All these mean the same
thing, that the life of man is briet .
and transitory. Bildad designs to ap-
ply it not to man in general, but to tlie
age in which he lived, as being dis-
qualified by the shortness of life to
make extended observations.

CHAPTER Vltl.

129

10 Shall not they teach thee,
and tell thee, and utter words
out of their heart 1

10. Shall not they teach thee. The
results of human conduct, tind the
great principles on which God gov-
erns the world. H And utter tvords
out of their heart. Dr. Good renders
this,

" And well forth the sayings of their wisdom,"
and supposes it means that the words
of wisdom would proceed from them
as water bubbles from a fountain.
But this, I think, is a mere conceit.
The true sense is, that the}'- would
not speak that merely which comes
from the mouth, or that which comes
uppermost, and without reflection — as
tiie Greeks say, Xtyfiv nav o, xi enl
oTo/f« 6A.9-// ; or, as the Latins, Qiiic-
quid in buccavi venerit loqui — to speak
lohatever comes in the tmnith ; but
they would utter that which came
from tiie heart — which was sincere,
and the result of deep and prolonged
reflection. Perhaps, also, Bildad
means to insinuate that Job had ut-
tered what was uppermost in his
mind, without taking time for reflec-
tion.

11. Can the rush. This passage
has all the appearance of being a
fragment of a poem handed down
from ancient times. It is adduced
by Bildad as an example of the views
of the ancients, and, as the connec-
tion would seem to imply, as a speci-
men of the sentiments of those who
lived before, the life of man had been
abridged. It was customary in the
early ages of the world to communi-
cate knowledge of all kinds by max-
ims, moral sayings, and proverbs ; by
apothegms and by poetry handed
down from generation to generation.
Wisdom consisted much in the
amount of maxims and proverbs
which were thus treasured up ; as it
now consists much in the know-
ledge which we have of the lesson.s
taught by the past, and in the ability
to apply that knowledge to the va-
rious transactions of life. The re-
cords of past ages constitute a vast

11 Can the rush grow up
without mire ? can thtj Hafr sfrow
without water 1

storehouse of wisdom, and the pres-
ent generation is more wise than
those which have gone before, only
because the results of their observa-
tions have been treasured up, and we
can act on their experience, and be-
cause we can begin where they left
oif, and, taught by their experience,
can avoid the mistakes which they
made. The word " rwsA " here
(X^i^) denotes properly a bulrush,
and especially the Egyptian papyrus
— papyrus Nilotica. See Notes on
Isa. xviii. 2. It is derived from the
verb ^'SJ' *^ absorb, to drink up, and
is given to this plant because it ab-
sorbs or drinks up moisture. The
Egyptians used it to make garments,
shoes, baskets, and especially boats
or skiffs. Pliny, Nat. His. 13. 21-26.
See Notes on Isaiah xviii. 2. They
also derived from it materials for
writing — and hence our word paper.
The LXX render it here, TTCiTrvooq^
papyrus. H Without viire. Without
moisture. It grew in the marshy placi*s
along the Nile. ^ Can tlte flag. Ano-
ther plant of a similar character. The
word ^'^^, flag-, says Gesenius, is an
Egyptian word, signifying viarsh-
grass, reeds, bulrushes, sedge, every
thing which grows in wet grounds.
The word was adopted not only into
the Hebrew, but also into the Greek
idiom of Alexandria, where it is writ-
ten, ci/i, a/ft. Jerome says of it,
" When I inquired of the learned
what this word meant, I heard from
the Egyptians, that by this name
every thing was intended in their
language which grew up in a pool."
The word is synonymous with rusi ,
or bulrush, and denote'' a plant v/hich
absorbs a great qu£ ; ty of water.
The annexed cut will show the usual
form of this weed in Egypt, and the
manner in which it grows, and the
necessity of water for its support. In
the cut it is represented as growing
in the water.

130

JOB.

12 Whilst " it is yet in his
greenness, and not cut down, it
withereth before any other herb.

a Fs. J 29. 6. Mat. 13.20.

13 So are the paths of all that
forget God ; and the hypocrite's
hope ^ shall perish :

b c. 11. 20.27.8 rr 10.5

What is ihe exact idea- which this
figure is designed to coiivey, is not
very clear. I think it probable that
the whole description is intended to
represent a hypocrite, and that the
meaning is, that he had in his growth
a strong resemblance to such a rush
or reed. There was nothing solid or
substantial in his piety. It was like
the soft, spongy texture of the water-
reed, and would wilt under trial, as
the papyrus would when deprived of
water.

12. Whilst it is yet in his greenness
That is, while it seems to be in its
vigor. IT £nd is not cut do2cn. Even
when it is not cut down. If suffered
to stand by itself, and if undisturbed,
it will witht Avay. The applica-
tion of this is obvious and beautiful.
Such plants have no self-sustaining
po\\er. They are dependent on
moisture for their support. If that
is withheld, they droop and die. So
with the prosperous sinner and the

hypocrite. His piety, compared with
tiiat which is genuine, is like the
spongy texture of the paper-reed
compared with the solid oak. He is
sustained in his professed religion by
outward prosperity, as the rush is
nourished by moisture r and the mo-
ment his prosperity is withdrawn, his
religion droops and dies like the flag
without water.

]3. So are the paths of all that for-
get God. This is clearly a part of
the quotation from the sayings of the
ancients. The word patJis here
means ways, acts, doings. They
who forget God are like the paper-
reed. They seem to flourish, but
they have nothing that is firm and
substantial. As the paper-reed soon
dies, as the flag withers away before
any other herb, so it will be with the
wicked, though apparently prosper-
ous. TT ,^nd the hypocrite's hope shall
perish. This important sentiment, it
seems, was known in the earliest pe

CHAPTER VIII.

131

14 Whose hope shall be cut

1 house. Is. 59. 5, 6.

riods of the world ; and if the suppo-
sition above be correct, that this is a
fragment of a poem which had come
down from far distant times, it was
probably known before tlie flood.
The passage requires no particular
philological explanation, but it is
exceedingly important. We may
remark on it, (1.) That there were
hypocrites even in that early age of
the world. They are confined to no
period, or country, or religious deno-
mination, or profession. There are
hypocrites ia religion — and so there
are in politics, and in business, and
in friendship, and in morals. There
are pretended friends, and pretended
patriots, and pretended lovers of vir-
tue, whose hearts are false and hol-
low, just as there are pretended
friends of religion. Wherever there
is genuine coin, it will be likely to
be counterfeited; and the fact of a
counterfeit is always a tribute to the
intrinsic worth of the coin — for who
would be at the pains to counterfeit
that which is worthless.^ The fact
that there are hypocrites in the
church, is an involuntary tribute to
the excellency of religion. (2.) The
hypocrite has a hope of eternal life.
This hope is founded on various
things. It may be on his own mo-
rality ; it may be on the expectation
that he will be able to practise a de-
ception ; it may be on some wholly
false and unfounded view of the
character and plans of God. Or tak-
ing the word hypocrite in a larger
sense to denote anyone who pretends
to religion and who has none, this
hope may be founded on some change
of feeling which he has had, and
which he mistook for religion ; on
some supposed vision which he had
of the cross or of the Redeemer, or on
the mere subsiding of the alarm which
an awakened sinner experiences, and
the comparative peace consequent on
that. The mere cessation of fear
produces a kind of peace — as the
acean is calm and beautiful after a

off, and wliose trust .^^hall be
spider's ' web.

storm — no matter what may be the
cause, whether it be true religion or
any other cause. Many a sinner,
who has lost his convictions for sin
in any way, mistakes the temporary
calm which succeeds for true reli-
gion, and embraces the liope of the
hypocrite. (3.) That hope will per-
ish. This may occur in various ways.
(a) It may die away insensibly, and
leave the man to be a mere jJrofcssor
of religion — a formalist, without
comfort, usefulness, or peace, (h) It
may be taken away in some calami-
ty by which God tries the soul, and
where the man will see that he has
no religion to sustain him. (c) It
may occur under the preaching of
the gospel, when the hypocrite may
be convinced that he is destitute of
vital piety, and has no true love to
God. (d) It may be on a bed of
death — when God comes to take
away the soul, and when the judg-
ment-seat appears in view, (e) Or
it will be at the bar of God. Then
the hope of the hypocrite will cer-
tainly be destroyed. Then it will be
seen that he had no true religion, and
then he will be consigned to the aw-
ful doom of him who in the most sol-
emn circumstances lived to deceive,
and who assumed the appearance of
that which he had the strongest rea-
son to believe he never possessed.
Oh ! how important it is for every
professor of religion to examine him-
self, that he may know n'hat is the
foundation of his hope of heaven !

14. Whose hope shall he cut off.
Schultens supposes that the quota-
tion from the ancients closes with
ver. 13, and that these are the com-
ments of Bildad on the passage to
which he had referred. Rosenmiiller
and Noyes continue the quotation to
the close of ver. 19; Dr. Good closes
it at ver. 13. It seems to me that it
is extended farther than ver. 13, and
probably it is to be regarded as con-
tinued to the close of ver. 18. The
beginning of this verse has been very

32

JOB.

15 He shall lean upon his
nouse, but it " shall not stand :
he shall hold it fast, but it shall
.lot endure.

variously rendered. Dr. Good says
that it has never been understood, and
prcposcs to translate it, " thus shall
his i;uj)i)ort rot away." Noyes ren-
(Ifis it, " whoso expectation shall
roine to naught;" Gesenius, "shall
ln' cut otr." Jerome, J\^u7iei placehit
rccordia sua, " his tuadness [dotage,
rage, or frenzy] shall not please him."
The LXX, "his house shall be unin-
liabitable, and his tent shall pass
away as the spider." The Hebrew
word translated "cut off" ( ^p^) is
from '^^Pf hilt, usually meaning to
loathe, to nauseate, to be offensive.
Gcsenius supposes that the word here

IS synonymous with the Arabic U V
—to be cut off. But this sense does
not occur elsewhere in the Hebrew,
and it is doubtful whether this is the
true sense of the phrase. In the
Hebrew word there is probably al-
ways the idea of loathing, of being
offensive, irk.some, or disgusting. See
Vs. xtv. 10, I was grieved; Job x. 1,
is weary; Ezek. vi. 0, shall loathe;
so Ezek. XX. 43, xxxvi. 31 ; Ezek.
xvi. 47, a tiresome, or disgusting ob-
j(<t. Ta\ htr (Concord.) renders it
here, " Whom his hope shall loathe
or abt)minate, i. e. wlio shall loathe
or hale the thing that he hopes for."
1 have no doubt tliat the meaning
htTf is, to be loathsome, offensive, or
nauseous, and tlie correct sense is,
' wliose hope shall rot.' The figure
is continued from the image of the
paper-reed and tlui flag, which soon
decay ; and the idea is, that as such
weeds grow offensive and putrid in
tli(! stagnant water, so shall it be with
the hope of the hypocrite H j^nd
ichose trust. Wliose confidence, or
expectation. H .^ spider's wtb. Marg.
house. So the Hel). n^^a. The spi-
der's house is the web which it forms,
n frail, light, tenuous siibstanre which

16 He

sun, and

is green before tne
his branch shooteth
forth in his garden.

a Mat. 7. 26.

will sustain almost nothing. The
wind shakes it, and it is easily
brushed away. So it will be with
the hope of the hypocrite.

15. He shall lean upon his house.
This is an allusion to the web or
house of the spider. The hope of
the hypocrite is called the house
which he has built for himself, his
home, his refuge, his support. But it
shall fail him. In times of trial he
will trust to it for support, and it will
be found to be as frail as the web
of the spider. How little the light
and slender thread which a spider
spins would avail a man for support
in time of danger ! So frail and
unsubstantial will be the hope of the
hypocrite ! It is impossible to con-
ceive any figure which would more
strongly describe the utter vanity of
the hopes of the wicked. A similar
comparison occurs in the Koran, Sur.
28, 40 : " They who assume any
other patrons to themselves besides
God, are like the spider building his
house ; for the house of the spider is
most feeble." IT He shall hold it fast
Or, he shall lay hold on it to sustain
him, denoting the avidity with
which the hypocrite seizes upon his
hope. The figure is still taken from
the spider, and is an instance of a
careful observation of the habits of
that insect. The idea is, that the
spider, when a high wind or a tem-
pest blows, seizes upon its slender
web to sustain itself. But it is insuf-
ficient. The wind sw^eeps all away.
So the tempest of calamity sweeps
away the hypocrite, though he grasp*
at his hope, and would seek security
in tliat, as a spider does in the light
and tenuous thread which it has spun.

IG. He is green before the sun.
Vulg. antequam veniat sol — heforc
the sun comes. So the Chaldeo,
" before the rising of the sun." So
Eichhorn renders it. According to

CHAPTER VIII

133

17 His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the

this, which is probably the true inter-
pretation, the passage means that he
is green and flourishing before the sun
rises, but that he cannot bear its
heat and withers away. A new il-
lustration is here introduced, and the
object is to compare the hypocrite
with a vigorous plant that grows up
quick and sends its branches afar, but
which has no depth of root, and
whicli, when the intense heat of the
sun comes upon it, withers away. The
comparison is not with a tree, which
would bear the heat of the sun, but
rather with those succulent plants
which have a large growth of leaves
and branches, like a gourd or vine,
but which will not bear a drought or
endure the intense heat of the sun.
" This comparison of the transitory
nature of human hope and prosperity
to the sudden blight which over
'throws the glory of the forest and of
the garden," says the Editor of the
Pictorial Bible (on Ps. xxxvii. 35), " is
at once so beautiful and so natural, as
to have, been employed by poets of
every age." One such comparison
of exquisite finish occurs in Shak-
speare :

This is the state of man ! To-day he puts foith

The tender leaves of hope ; to-morrow blos-
soms,

And bears his blushing honors thick upon him ;

The third day conies a frost, a killing frost,

And, when he thinks, good easy man, full
surely

His greatness is a ripening, nips his slioot,

And tlien he falls, as I do.

fi And his branch shooteth forth, &c.
A comparison of a prosperous person
or nation with a vi7ie which spreads
in this manner, is common in the
Scriptures. See Ps. Ixxx. 11 :

She sent out her boughs unto the sea,
And her branches unto the river.

Comp. Note on Isa. xvi. 8. A similar
figure occurs in Ps. xxxvii. 35 :

I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a green bay tree.

17. His roots are wrapped about
the heap. There has been great
diversity of opinion in the interpre-
tation of this passage. Jerome ren-
12

ders it, " over the heap of stones hiS
roots are condensed." Walton, su-
per fontem — over a fountain. The
LXX, " he lies down [or sleeps,
y.oifiaxai^ on a heap of stones ; and
he lives in the midst of flint-stones."
According to some, the word ren-
dered hea-p (^^) means a fountain;
according to others, it means a heap
or pile of stones ; according to Dr.
Good, it means a rock. Accordint^
to the view of the former, it refers to
the flourishing condition of a hypo-
crite or sinner, and means that he is
like a tree that sends its roots by a
fountain, and is nourished by it.
According to others, the reference is
to the fact that the hypocrite is like a
plant that has no depth of earth for
its roots, that wraps its roots around
any thing, even a heap of stones, to
support itself; and that consequently
will soon wither under the intense
heat of the sun. The word ^?, ren-
dered " /iCrt^," means either (1.) a
heap, as a heap of stones, from ^\\
— to roll, as e. g. stones. It may
denote a heap of stones, Josh. vii. 26,
but it commonly refers to the ruins of
walls and cities, Jer. ix. 10, li. 37.
Isa. XXV. 2. It means (2 ) a fountain
or spring, so called from the rolling
or welling up of the waters, Cant. iv.
12, and hence rolling waves or bil-
lows, Ps. xlii. 8, Ixxxix. 10, cvii. 25,
29. The parallelism, if nothing else,
demands that the usual significa-
tion should be given to it here ; and
the true sense is, that the prosperous
wicked man or the hypocrite is like
a plant which stands in the midst of
rocks, rubbish, or old ruins, and not
like one that stands in a fertile soil
where it may strike its roots deep.
The reference is to the fact that a
tree or plant which springs up on a
rock, or in the midst of rocks, will
I send its roots afar for nutriment, or
1 will wrap them around the projecting
I points of rocks in order to obtain
I support. All have observed this io
1 trees standing on rocks ; but the fol

134

place of stones.

JOB.

lowing extract from >illiman's Jour-
nal for January, 1840, will illustrate
the fuct referred to here more ful-
ly

' »« About fifteen years ago, upon the
top of an immense bowlder of lime-
stone, some ten or twelve feet in
diameter, a sapling was found grow-
ing. The stone was but slightly im-
bedded in the earth ; several of its
sides were raised from four to six
feet above its surface; but the top of
the rock was rough with crevices,
and its surface, which was sloping
otV, on one side, to the earth, was
covered with a thin mould. From
thi^mould the tree had sprung up, and
having thrust its roots into the cre-
vices of the rock, it had succeeded
in reaching the height of some twelve
or fifteen feet. But about this period
tiie roots on one side became loosen-
ed from their attachment, and the
tree gradually declined to the oppo-
site side, until its body was in a
parallel line with the earth. The
root.-! on the opposite side, having ob-
tained a firmer hold, afforded suffi-
cient nourishment to sustain the
plant ; although they could not,
alone, retain it in its vertical position.
In this condition of things, the tree
as if 'conscious of its wants,' adopt-
ed (if the term may be used) an in-
genious process, in order to regain its
former upright position. One of the
most vigorous of the detached roots
sent out a branch from its side, which,
passing round a projection of the
rock, again united with the parent
stalk, and thus formed a perfect loop
around this projeriion, which gave to
the root an irnmovaljle attachment.

" The tree now began to recover
from its bent position. Obeying the
natural tendency of all plants to
grow erect, and sustained by this
root, which increased with unwonted
vigor, in a few years it had entirely
regained its vertical position, ele-
vated, as no one could doubt who
Haw it, by the aid of the root which
had formed this .singular attachment.

18 If he destioy him from hia

But this was not the only power ex-
hibited by this remarkable tree.

" After its elevation it flourished
vigorously for several years. Some
of its roots had traced the sloping
side of the rock to the earth, and
were buried in the soil below.
Others, having embedded themselves
in its furrows, had completely filled
these crevices with vegetable matter.
The tree still continuing to grow,
concentric layers of vegetable mat-
ter were annually deposited between
the alburnum and liber, until by the
force of vegetable growth alone, the
rock was split from the top to the
bottom, into three nearly equal divi-
sions, and branches of the roots
were soon found, extending down,
through the divisions into the earth
below. On visiting the tree a few
months since, to take a drawing of it,
we found that it had attained an alti-
tude of fifty feet, and was four and a
half feet in circumference at its base."

The image here shows that the
author of this beautiful fragment was
a careful observer of nature, and the
comparison is exceedingly pertinent
and striking. What more bea-'Jtiful
illustration of a hypocrite can there
be .' His roots do not strike into the
earth. His piety is not planted in a
rich soil. It is on the hard, rock of
the unconverted human heart. Yet
it sends out its roots afar; seems to
flourish for a time ; draws nutriment
from remote objects-; clings to a crag
or a projecting rock, or to any thing
for support — until a tempest sweeps
it down to rise no more ! No doubt
the idea of Bildad was, that Job was
just such a man. M Seeth the place
of stones. Sept., " and lives in the
midst of flints," not an unapt render-
ing—and a very striking description
of a hypocrite. So Castellio, exietit
inter lapides. Its only nutriment is
derived from the scanty earth in the
stony soil on which it stands, or in
the crevices of the rocks.

18. If he destroy him from his
place. The particle here which is

CHAPTER VIII.

place, then it shall deny him,
saying, I " have not seen thee.

19 Behold, this is the joy of
his way, and out of the earth

a Pd 37.36. b Matt. 3. 9.

rendered "if"(C!S:) is often used to
denote emphasis, and means here cer-
tainly— 'Jie sJiall be certainly de-
stroyed.' The word rendered destroy^
from ^'t:3, means literally to swallow
(cli. vii. 19), to swallow up, to ab-
sorb; and hence to consume, hiy
waste, destroy. The sense is, that
the wicked or the hypocrite shall be
wholly destro3-ed from his place, but
the image or figure of the tree is still
retained. Some suppose that it
means that God would destroy him
from his place ; others, as Rosen-
nuiller and Dr. Good, suppose that
the reference is to the soil in which
the tree was planted, that it would
completely absorb all nutriment, and
leave the tree to die ; that is, that the
dry and thirsty soil in which the tree
is planted, instead of affording nutri-
ment, acts as a " sucker," and absorbs
itself all the juices which would
otherwise give support to the t^-ee.
This seems to me to be probably the
true interpretation. It is one drawn |
from nature, and one that preserves
the concmnity of the passage. ^ Then
it shall deny him. That is, the soil,
the earth, or the place where it stood.
This represents a wicked man-under
the image of a tree. The figure is
beautiful. The earth will be ashamed
of it ; ashamed that it sustained the
tree ; ashamed that it ever ministered
any nutriment, and will refuse to own
it. So with the hypocrite. He
shall pass away as if the earth re-
fused to own him, or to retain any
recollection of him. IT / have not
seen thee. I never knew thee. It
shall utterly deny any acquaintance
with it. There is a striking resem-
blance here to the language which
the Saviour says he- '.ill use respect-
ing the hypocrite in the day of
judgment: "and jien will I profess
to thchi, I never know yon." J\!atfh.

shall others * grow.

20 Behold, God '' will not cast
away a perfect man, neither will
he ^ help the evil doers ;

c Ps. 94. ]4. 1 takethe ungodly hy the hfi'id.

vii. 23. The hypocrite has nev( r
been known as a pious man. The
earth will refuse to own him as such,
and so will the heavens.

19. Behold^ this is the joy of his
way. This is evidently sarcastic.
' Lo ! such is the joy of his course !
He boasts of joy, as all hypocrites do,
but his joy endures only tor a little
time. This is the end of it. He
is cut down and removed, and the-
earth and the heavens disown him !'
^ And out of the earth shall others
grow. This image is still derived
from the tree or plant. The meaning
is, that such a plant would be taken
av.'ay, and that others would spring
up in its place which the earth would
not be ashamed of So the hypocrite
is removed to make way for others
who will be sincere, and who Avill be
useful. Hypocrites and useless men
in the church are removed to make
way for others who will be active
and devoted to the cause of the Re-
deemer. A similar sentiment occurs
in ch. xxvii. 16, 17. This closes, as
I suppose, the quotation which Bildnd
makes from the poets of the former age,
and in the remainder of the chapter he
states another truth pertaining to tlie
righteous. This fragment is one of
the most interesting that can be found
any where. As a relic of the earliest
times it is exceedingly valuable ; as
an illustration of the argument in
hand, and of the course of events in
this world, it is eminently beautiful.
It is as true now as it was when utter-
ed before the flood, and may be used
now as describing the doom of the
hypocrite, with as much propriety as
then, and it may be regarded as one
of the way-marks in human nfi'airs,
showing that the government of God,
and the manner of his dispensations,
are always substantially the same.

20. Behold, God will not cast away

186

JOB.

21 Till he fill thy mouth with
ikutrhina, and thy lips with ' re-

■a'

joicing.

1 shouting for joy.

a Vs. 132. 18. 2 not be.

a pirfect man. On the meaning of
tlic word perfect, see Note, eh. ]. 1.
TI.e sentiment of Bildad, or the in-
ference which he draws from the
wliole firgument is, tliat God will be
the friend of the pious, but that he
will not aid the wicked. This accords
with the general sentiment maintain-
ed in the argument of the friends of
Job. H J\'cithcr will he help the evil
doers. Marg. Take the ungodly by
the hand. This is in accordance with
the Hebrew. The figure is that of
taking one by the hand in order to
assist him. See Isa. xlii. 6.

21. Till he Jill thy mouth icith
laughing. Till he make thee com-
pieTely happy. The word rendered
" till" p?), is rendered by Dr.
Good, " even yet." Noyes, follow-
ing Houbiganr, De Wette, and
JMichaelis, proposes to change the
jiointing, and to read ^>, instead of
^V — meaning, '■'■while." The verse
is connected with that which follows,
and the particle here used evidently
means "while," or "even yet" —
and the whole passage means, ' if
you return to God, he will even yet

22 They that hate thee shall
be'clothed with " shame ; and
the dwelling-place of the wicked
shall ' come to nought.

firTyou with joy, while those who
hate >ou shall be clothed with
shame. God will show you favor,
but the dwelling of the wicked shall
come to naught.' The object of the
passage is to induce Job to return to
God,°with the assurance that if lie
did, he would sliow mercy to him,
while the wicked should be destroy-
ed. *\\ With rejoicing. Marg. Shoiit-
ingforjoy. The word used (S^^^^^l)
is "properly that which denotes the^
clangor of a trumpet, or the shout of
victory and triumph.

22. They that hate thee shall be
clothed with shame. When they see
your returning prosperity, and the
evidences of the divine favor. They
will then be ashamed that they re-
garded you as a hypocrite, and that
they reproached you in your trials.
H And the dwelling-place of the
ivicked, &c. The wicked shall be
destroyed, and his family shall pass
away. That is, God will favor the
righteous, but punish the wicked.
This opinion the friends of Job main-
tain all along, and by this they urge
him to forsake his sins, repent, and
return to God.

CHAPTER IX.

ANALYSIS OF CHAPTERS IX. AND X.

This cliaptcr nnd the following comprise the answer of Job to the speech of Bildad. It maj
be romfirkcd in genoiul, that the object of Job in these arguments is not to prove that be waa
entirely faultieas. He wa.s charged with being a hypociite, and liis opponents in the argument
|ir<»cce<l(.'d on the presumption that he was a wicked man. Against tHis he protests, and main-
lnin« bin own iiuiocence of tlie cliurge. By this he does not mean absolii > perfection. He means
llial lie is free from tlic secret crimes of whicii he was accused ; that he s not chargeable with
unroinmon cuiU, such as liioy alleged ; or, that he is a sincere and uprighv nan. Tt may also be
olwcrvcd, that there arc evidences in the speeches of Job that he is agitated with contending
patciona. Fear, hope, confidence, despair, and a sense of the severity of his sufferings, by luma
hnvo pu*io<isi(in of his mind, and he gives vent in turn to them all. There is, therefore, at

CHAPTER IX.

137

limes apparent inconsistency in his langunge and thoughts ; hut the object of the poem waa to

exhibit these contending emotions, and to show how the mind is agitated ia scenes like these.
The substance of the reply of Job to Uiklad hero is the following :

He admits in general the truth of what Bildad had said, that no one can he just with God,
and that if God should enter into judgment with mau he could not answer him for one of a tiiou-
sand of his offences. He thus shows tliat he had recovered his equanimity, and friiat he never
meant in vindicating his own innocence to maintain that he was absolutely free from sin, vs. 1 -3.
He proceeds to aigue that God is an absolute sovereign ; that, he distributes favors and judg-
ments in accordance with his own inscrutable will ; that men ought not to presume to sit in
judgment on the doings of the Almighty ; and that even if lie had the fullest conviction of his
own innocence, he would not presume to enter into an argument with him, but would make
supplication to him, vs. 4-15. These thoughts are worthy of a man who had full confidence in
God. They show the calm and deliberate judgment of Job, and prove that lie was a pious man,
tliough the severity of his sufferings, and the provocation which he met with, led him sometimes
to exj)ress sentiments little in accordance with these. He proceeds to soy (vs. 16-21), that he
i.s so feeble that he could have no hope of prevailing in a controversy with God ; and that though
he were conscious of innocence, he would not set up a defence when God judged otherwise ; for
that in such a case his attempt to vindicate himself would prove that he was pciveise. The
principle here advanced is, that God must be right. He is great, and glorious, and holy ; and
nren ought to believe, however much they may suffer, that the principles of his government are
equitable and true. When he judges man to be a sinner, it must be so. The highest proof of
humair guilt is the fact that God regards man as a sinner. He proceeds (vs. 22-24) to advance
the sentiment on which he so much insisted, that misery, so far from being proof of uncommon
guilt, is equally the portion of the righteous and the wicked. He maintains that his sufferings
do not prove that he is a Irad man, for that calamities come upon all alike. He passes now to
a contemplation of his own sufferings, and in the course of his description of his afflictions he is
again led to give vent to feelings of a much less noble and elevated character than those which
he had just expressed. When arguing in the abstract about God, he is right ; when his mind
contemplates his own sorrows, he becomes impatient, and often uses language of murmuring
and complaint. He says (vs. 25-28) that his days are swift and an; full of sorrow, and that he
cannot forget his sufferings and find comfort. He adds (vs. 29-35) that God is so great that he
cannot enter into an argument with him ; that he is reduced to silence by his mere power ; that
there is no days-marr between him and God before whom the cause might be presented ; and that
if God would remove his calamity, he would then state his feelings tully, and without fear. But
this could not be ; and though he siiould say ever so much in his own vindication, and wash
himself in snow-water, yet that God would plunge him into the ditch and overwhelm him with
the consciousness of guilt, and hold liim guilty ,stlll.

In ch. X. he prosecutes tlie argument, and indulges himself in a much greater latitude of
expression and of feelmg than he had done in ch. ix. In particular, he expostulates with great
earnestness and pathos with God on accoun,t of his treating a creature — the work of his owa
hands — with such severity. He says (ver, 1) that he is wean' of his life, for it is a burden ;
addresses God directly, and in a solemn manner, as his Maker, and agks why he deals thus with
a poor frail, and heljrless creature whom he has made ; acknowledges that all that he has is
from God, appeals to God himself in proof that he is not a wicked man, and asks why he deals
with him in this awful manner (vs. 2-12) ; and says that God marked him out and hunted him
down as a lion, and multiplied the tokens of his indignation so that he was utterly overwhelmed
and confounded, vs. 13-17 As he proceeds he grows warmer ; is roused to desperation at the
idea that God is his enemy ; and again vehemently wishes for death as a relief for his woes, ask-
ing only for a little respite before he goes down to the land of darkness and of shades, vs. 18-22.
Tliere are marks of great agitation of feeling, of deep emotion, of mingled sensibilities, in these
chapters, and tlie whole is a remarkable illustration of the feelings which even pious men some-
times have in trials.

npHEN Job answered and said,
-^2 1 know it is so of a triif h ;

a Ps. 132. 18. Ro. 3. 20.

2. / knoio it is so of a truth. Job
here refers, undoubtedly, to some-
thing that had been said before ; but
whether it is to the general strain of
remark, or to some particular expres-
sion, may be doubted. RosenmOllcr
supposes that he refers to what was
said by Eliphaz in ch. iv. 17 ; but it
seems more probable that it is to the
general position which had been laid

but " how should man be just
' with God ?

1 or, before.

down and defended, that God was
just and holy, and that his proceed-
ings were marked with equity. Job
admits this, and proceeds to show
that it was a truth quite as familiar
to him as it was to them. The object
of his dwelling on it seems to be to
show them that it was no new thing
to him, and that he had some views
on that important subject which wero

138

JOB.

3 If he will contend with him,

well worthy of attention. IT But
how should man he just iclth God ?
Marjr. hej'oic. The meaning is, thai
he could not be regarded as jjerfectly
lioly in the sight of God ; or that so
holy and pure a being as God must
see that man was a sinner, and regard
him as such Sec the sentiment ex-
plained in tiie Notes on ch. iv. 17.
The question here asked is, in itself,
the most important ever propounded
by man — ' How shall sinful man be
regarded and treated as righteous by
his Maker r' This has been the great
inquiry which has always been before
tiie human mind. ^\\xn is conscious
that he is a sinner. He feels that lie
must be regarded as such by God.
Vet his happiness here and hereaf-
ter, his peace and all his hope, de-
pend on his being treated as if he
were righteous, or regarded as just
before God. This inquiry has led to
all forms of religion among men ; to
all the penances and sacrifices of dif-
ferent systems ; to all the efforts
which have been made to devise some
system that shall make it proper for
God U) treat men as righteous.* The
question has never been satisfactorily
answered e.xcept in the Christian
revelation, where a plan is disclosed
by which God 'may be just, and yet
the justifier of him that believeth.'
Through the infinite merits of the
Redeemer, man, though conscious
that he is personally a sinner, may be
treated as if he had never sinned ;
though ft'cling that he is guilty, he
may consistently be forever treated
as if he wen; just. The question
asked by Job implies that such is the
evid».'nce and the extent of human
^Miilt, that man can never justify him-
nelf This is clear and indisputable.
Man caniiut justify Jiimself by the
deeds of tJie law. Justification, as s
work of law, is this : A. man is charg-
ed, for example, with the crime of
murder. He sets up in defence that
h.- did not kill, or that if he took life
it was in self-dcfiince, and that he
had ii right to do it. Unless the fact

he cannot answer him one of a

of killing be proved, and it be shown
that he had no right to do in the case
as he has done, he cannot be con-
demned, and the law acquits him.
It has no charge against him, and he
is just or justified in tlie sight of the
law. But in this sense man can nev-
! er be just before God. He can nei-
ther show that the things charged on
him by his Maker were not done, or
that being done, he had a right to ,do
them ; and being unable to do this,
he must be held to be guilty. He
can never be justified therefore by
the law, and it is only by that system
which God has revealed in the gos-
pel, where a conscious sinner may be
treateda5z/"he were righteous through
the merits of another, that a man
can ever be regarded as just before
God. See Notes on Rom. i. 17, iii.
24,25.

3. If he icill contend with him.
That is, if God enters into a contro-
versy with man. If he chooses to
charge crime on him, and to hold
him responsible for his deeds. The
language here is taken from courts of
justice, and means that if a trial were
instituted, where God should submit
charges, and the matter were left to
adjudication, man could not answer^
the charges against him. Comp.
Notes on Isa. xli. 1. IT He cannot
ansicer him one of a thousand. For
one of a thousand of the sins charged
on him. The word thousand here is
used to denote the largest number,
or all. A man who could not answer
for one charge brought against him
out of a thousand, must be held to be
guilty ; and the expression here is
equivalent to saying that he could
not answer liim at all. It may also be
implied that God has many charges
against man. His sins are to be
reckoned by thousands. They are
numerous as his years, his months,
his weeks, his days, his hours, his
moments ; numerous as his privileges,
Jiis deeds, and his thoughts. For
not one of those sins can he answer.
He can give no satisfactory account

CHAPTER IX.

139

thousand.

4 He ° is wise in heart, and
inighty in strength : who hath
hardened himself against him,
and hath prospered 1

before an impartial tribunal for any
of them. If so, how deeply guilty is
man before God ! How glorious that
plan of justification by which he can
be freed from this long list of offen-
ces, and treated as though he had not
sinned !

4. He is icise in heart. Herder
renders this,

Even the wise and the powerful.

Who hath withstood him and prospered?

But the more common interpretation
is to refer it to God. The meaning
of Job appears to be, that God was a
sagacious adversary ; that he was
able to manage his cause ; that he
could meet and refute all objections
which could be urged ; and that it
would be in vain to engage in a liti-
gation before him. He so well un-
derstood the whole ground of debate,
and was so entirely skilled in the
merits of the controversy, and could
so successfully meet all that could be
alleged, that it was useless to attempt
to hold an argument with him. H
And mighty in strength. He is able
to execute all his designs, and to car-
ry all his purposes into effect. Man
is weak and feeble, and it is hopeless
for him to attempt to contend with
the Almighty. TI lIHio hath hardened
h\mse\^ against him., and hath pros-
pered? To harden one's self, here
means to resist or withstand him. It
refers to the firmness or resolution
which one is obliged to adopt who
opposes another. Here it means the
opposition which man makes to the
law and government of the Most
High ; and the affirmation is, that no
one can make such opposition who
will not be ultimately overcome.
God is so great, so powerful, and so
just, that a successful resistance can-
not be made. The arrangements of
God will take their course, and man

5 Which removeth the moun-
tains, and they know not ;
which overturneth them in his
anger ;

a Jude 24.25.

must yield to his claims and his gov-
ernment, or be prostrated. None can
successfully resist God ; and the true
policy of man, as well as his duty, is
to yield to him, and be at peace with
him. H And hath prospered. Or
been successful. He has failed in his
opposition, and been obliged to yield.
Prosperity is not found in opposing
God, It is only by falling in with
his arrangements and following his
designs. A prosperous voyage is
made by falling in with winds and
currents, and not in opposing them;
prosperous agriculture is carried on
by coinciding with the favorable sea-
sons of the year, and taking advan-
tage of the dews, and rains, and sun-
beams that God sends, and not in
opposing them ; prosperity in regard
to health is found in taking advantage
of the means which God gives to se-
cure it, and not in opposing them.
And the sinner in his course has no
more chance of success and prosper-
ity, than a man would have who
should make it a point or principle of
life always to sail against tides, and
currents, and head-winds ; or he who
should set at defiance all the laws of
husbandry, and plant on a rock, or in
the dead of winter ; or he who should
feed himself on poison rather than
on nutritious food, and cultivate the
nightshade rather than wheat. The
great principle is, that if a man desires
prosperity, he must fall in with the
arrangements of God in his provi-
dence and grace ; and wisdom is seen
in studying these arrangements, a,nd
in yielding to them.

5. Which removeth the mountains.
In order to show how vain it was to
contend with God, Job refers to some
exhibitions of his power and great-
ness. The ' removal of the moun-
tains' here denotes the changes
which occur in earthquakes and

140

JOB.

G Which " shaketh the earth
out of her place, and the pillars
thereof tremble ;

a He. 12. 26.

other violent convulsions of nature.
This illustration of tlie power of God
is often referred to in the Scriptures.
Conip. Judges v. 5. 1 Kings xix. 11.
Ps l.w. 6, cxiv. 4, cxliv. 5. Isa. xl. 12.
Jer. iv. 24. U And they knoicnut. This
is evidently a Hebraism, meaning
suddenly, or unexpectedly. He does
it, as it were, before they are aware
of it. A similar expression occurs
in the Koran, "God overturns them,
and tliey do not know it;" i. e. he
docs it without their suspecting any
such thing. Comp. Ps. xxxv. 8.
"Let destruction come upon him at
unawares," or, as it is in tiie Heb.
and in the margin, ichich he knoweth
not of. Tindal renders this, " He
translatethe the mountaynes or ever

then he aicare.

Which overturn-

cth them in his anger. As if he
were imraged. There could scarcely
bo any more terrific exhibition of the
wrath of God than the sudden and
tremendous violence of an earth-
quake

6. llliich shaketh the earth out of
her place. TJiis evidently refers to
violent convulsions of nature, as if
the earth were to be taken away.
Objects on the earth's surface become
displaced, and convulsion seems to
seize the world. The LXX render
this, " who shaketh that which is
under the heavens from its founda-
tions"— fy. &(fif).{o)v. The change in
the Hebrew would be very slight to
authorize this rendering. U Jindthe
pillars thereof tremble. In this place
the earth is represented as sustained
like a building by pillars or columns.
Whetlicr this is a mere poetic repre-
Hcntation, or whether it describes the
actual belief of the speaker in regard
to the structure of the earth, it is not
easy to determine. I am inclined to
think it is the former, because in
another place where he is speaking
of the cartii, he presents his views in

7 Which commandeth the
sun, '' and it riseth not, and seal-
eth up the stars ;

b Jos. 10. 12.

another form, and more in accord-
ance with the truth (see Notes on
ch. xxvi.7) ; and because here the il-
lustration is evidently taken from the
obvious and perceived effects of an
earthquake. It would convulse and
agitate the pillars of the most sub-
stantial edifice, and so it seemed to
shake the earth, as if its very sup-
ports would fall.

7. Which commandeth the sun., and
it riseth not. Schultens supposes that
all this is a description of the deluge
— when the mountains were re-
moved, when the fountains of the
deep were broken up, and when the
sun was obscured and seemed not to
rise. Others have supposed that it re-
fers to the fact that the sun is darkened
by clouds and tempests, and appears
not to rise and shine upon the earth.
Others suppose that the allusion is to
an eclipse ; and others, that it is to
the power of God, and means that
the rising of the sun depends on
him, and that if he should choose to
give the command, the heavenly
bodies would rise and give light no
more. It seems probable that the
meaning is, that God has poicer to do
this ; that the rising of the sun de-
pends on him ; and that he could de-
lay it, or prevent it, at his pleasure.
His power over the sun was shown
in the time of Joshua, when, at his
command, it stood still ; but it is not
necessary to suppose that there is
any reference to this fact liere. The
whole meaning of the language is
met by the supposition that it refers
to the power of God, and affirms
what he could do, or if it refer to any
fact that had been observed, that the
allusion is to the darkening of the
sun by an eclipse or a tempest. No
argument can be derived, therefore,
from the expression, in regard to the
age of the book. U A7id sealetk up
the Stars. The word seal in the

CHAPTER IX.

141

8 Which alone spreadeth out
the " heavens, and treadeth * up-
on the ' waves of the sea ;

a Vs. 104. 2, 3. [s. 40. 22. 28. b Mat. 14 25.
1 heights.

Scriptures (-O'^') ^s used with con-
siderable latitude of signification. It
is employed in the sense of shutting,
closing, making fast — as when any
thing was scaled, it was shut up or
made fast. The Hebrews often used
a seal where we would use a lock^
and depended on the protection de-
rived from the belief that one would
not break open that which was seal-
ed, where we are obliged to rely on
the security of the lock against force.
If there were honor and honesty
among men everywhere, a seal would
be as secure as a lock — as in a vir-
tuous community a sealed letter is as
secure as a merchant's iron "safe."
To seal up the stars, means so to shut
them up in the heavens, as to prevent
their shining; to hide them from the
view. They are concealed, hidden,
made close — as the contents of a let-
ter, a package, or a room are by a
seal, indicating that no one is to exa-
mine them, and concealing them
from the view. So God hides from
our view the stars by the interposition
of clouds.

8. JVJiich alone spreadeth out the
heavens. As an expanse, or a cur-
tain. See Notes on Isa. xl. 22.
TI And treadeth upon the waves of the
sea. Marg. Heights. So it is in
the Hebrew. It means the high
7caves ; that is, he walks upon
the waves of the ocean when lifted
up by a storm. This is spoken of
here as a proof of the greatness of
God ; and the meaning of all is, that
he is seen in the storm, in the
heaving ocean, when the heavens
are black v/ith tempest, and v/hen
the earth is convulsed. It may be
added here, that the Lord Jesus
walked amidst the howling winds on
the lake, and thus gave evidence that
he was God. Matth. xiv. 25. "The
Egyptian hieroglyphic for what was

9 Which ' maketh ^Arcturus,
Orion, and Pleiades, and the
chambers of the south ;

c Am. 5. 8. 2 .^sh, Cesil, and Cimah

not possible to be done, was a man
walking on the water." Burder. Dr.
Good, and some others, render this,
" on the mountains." But the more
correct rendering is given in the
common version. The Hebrew word
rendered "waves" (i^^^) indeed
properly means a height, a lofty
place, a mountain ; but the com-
parison of waves with a mountain, is
common in all languages. So we
speak of waves ' mountain-high,' or
as high as mountains. So Virgil,
./Eneid i. 105 :

Insequitur cumulo prseruptus aquae mons.
Similar to this, is the expression
occurring in Homer, xvinara 7aa
oQfooir ; and so Apollonius, i. 521 —
aXoq ay.ga. The hXX render it,
" who walketh upon the sea as upon
a pavement."

9. Which maketh Jlrcturus. This
verse, with others of the same de-
scription in the book of Job, is of
especial importance, as they furnish
an illustration of the views which
prevailed among the patriarchs on
the subject of astronomy. There are
frequent references to the sciences in
this book (see the Introduction), and
there is no source of illustration of
the views which prevailed in the
earliest times in regard to the state
of the sciences, so copious as can be
found in this poem. The thoughts
of men were early turned to the
science of astronomy. Not only were
they led to this by the beauty of the
heavens, and by the instinctive
promptings of the human mind to
know something about them, but the
attention of the Chaldeans and of the
other Oriental nations was early
drawn to them by the fact that they
wore shepherds, and that they passed
much of their time in the open air at
night, watching their flocks. Having

142

JOB.

nothing else to do, and being much i
awako, they would naturally con- j
trive to relieve the todiousncss of the j
night by watching the movements of j
the stars; and they early gave cm- j
ployment to their talents, by en-
deavoring to ascertain the influence
which the stars exerted over the
fates of men, and to their imagina-
tion, by dividing the heavens into
portions, having a fancied resem-
blance to certain animals, and by
giving them appropriate names.
Hence arose the arrangement of the
stars into constellations, and the
names which they still bear. The
Hebrew word rendered Arcturus,
is t'J, ash. The LXX render it,
JD.ftchrt—the Pleiades. Jerome,
Jrclurum. The Hebrew word
iisiiallv means a moth. Job iv. 19,
xiii. 'is, xxvii. 18. It also denotes
the splendid constellation in the
Northern hemisphere, which we call
Ursa Major, the Great Bear, Arcturus,
or the Wain. Comp. Niebuhr, Des.
of Arabia, p. 11-1. The word ^:?
does not literally mean a hear, but is
made by aphacresis from the Arabic
jjiutj nc-s, by the excisjon of the
initial n — as is common in Arabic.
See Bochart, Hieroz. P. H. Lib. I.
c. xvi. p. 113, 114. The word in
Arabic means a bier, and is the name
given to the constellation which we
denominate Ursa Major — " because,"
says Bochart, " the four stars, which
art; a squ;ire, are regarded as a bier,
on whi«-h a (lead body is borne. The
tliree f(jllovving (the tail of the bear)
art! the daughters or sons which at-
tfMid the funeral as mourners." This
name is f)flon given to this constella-
tion in Arabic. The Arabic name
is El-na'sch, the bier. " The ex-
pression," says Ideler, " denotes
particularly the bier on which the
dead are borne, and taken in this
sense, each of the two biers [in the
Ursa Major and Ursa Minor] is
accompanied l)y three mourning-
women. The biers and the mourning-
women together, are called Bendt-
na'sch , literal ly, ilauirJUrrs of (he hicr ;

that is, those who pertain to the
bier." Untersuchungen uber den
Ursprung und die Bedeutung der
Sternnamen, S. 419. Comp. ch.
xxxviii. .32 : " Canst thou guide
Arcturus with his sons?" Schultens
regards the word ^^^, as synonymous

ith the Arabic

U^

U

nig-ht-visil.

froni J]^ to go about by night, and
supposes this constellation to be bo
called, because it always revolves
around the pole, and never sets.
The situation and figure of this con-
stellation are well known. It is
seen at all times in the northern part
of the heavens, perpetually revolving
around the North Star, and two of
its principal stars point to the North
Star always. Its resemblance to a
bear, is quite fanciful — as it might be
imagined as well to resemble any
other object. The design of this
fancy was merely to assist the me-
mory. The only thing which seems
to have suggested it was its slight
resemblance to an animal, followed
by its young. Thus the stars, now-
known as the 'tail,' might have been
supposed to resemble the cubs of a
bear following their dam. The com-
parison of the constellation to a bier,
and the movement to a funeral pro-
cession, with the sons or daughters
of the deceased following on in the
mourning train, is much more poetical
and beautiful. This constellation is so
conspicuous, that it has been an object
of interest in all ages, and has been
one of the groups of stars most at-
tentively observed by navigators, aa
a guide in sailing. The reason was,
probably, that as it constantly re-
volved around the North Pole, it
could always be seen in clear weather,
and thus the direction in which they
were sailing, could always be told. It
has had a great variety of names.
The name Ursa Major, or the Great
Bear, is that which is commonly
given to it. It is a remarkabla facf,
also, that while this name was given
to it in the East, a tribe of the Ame-
rican Indians — the Iroquois, also gave

CHAPTER IX.

143

the same name of the Great Bear to it.
This is remarkable, because, so far as
known, they had no communication
with each other, and because the
name is perfectly arbitrary. Is this
an evidence that the natives of our
country derived their origin from
some of the nations of the East .'
In some parts of England the con-
stellation is called " Charles' Wain,"
or Wagon, from its fancied resem-
blance to a wagon, drawn by three
horses in a line. Others call it the
Plough. The whole number of
visibTe stars in this constellation is
eightv-seven, of which one is of the
first, three of the second, seven of the
third, and about twice as many of the
fourth magnitude. The constellations
of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor were
represented by the ancients, under
the image of a wagon drawn by a
team of horses. Tiiis is alluded to
by the Greek poet, Aratus, in an ad-
dress to the Athenians :

The one called Helix, soon as day retires
Observed with ease lights up his radiant fires ;
The other smaller and with feebler beams,
III a less circle drives his lazy teams ;
Dut more adapted for the sailor's guide,
Whene'er by night he tempts the briny tide.

Among the Egyptians these two con-
stellations are represented by the fig-
ures of bears, instead of wagons.
Whence the Hebrew name is derived
is not quite certain ; but if it be from
the Arabic, it probably means the
same — a bier. There seems no rea-
son to doubt, however, that the Ursa
Major is intended ; and that the idea
here is, that the greatness of God is
shown by his having made this beau-
tiful constellation. IT Orion. The
Vulgate renders this Orion, the LXX,
"EoTTfoov, Hesperus — i. e. the evening
star, Venus. The word ^"'P^, kesil,
is from ^'32i, kdsdJ, to be fat or fleshy }
to be strong, lusty, firm ; and then to
be dull, sluggish, stupid— as fat per-
sons usually are. Hence the word
^'''OD means a Jool. Ps. xlix. 11.
Prov. i. 32, X. 1. It is used here,
however, to denote a constellation,
and by most interpreters it is sup-
posed to denote the constellation

Orion, which the Orientals call a
giant. "They appear to have con-
ceived of this constellation under the
figure of an impious giant bound upon
the sky." Gesenius. Hence the
expression, Job xxxviii. 31, "Canst
thou loose the bands of Orion .''"
According to the Eastern tradition,
this giant was Nimrod, the founder
of Babylon, afterwards translated to
the skies. See Notes on Isa. xiii. 10,
where it is rendered constellation.
Virgil speaks of it as the Stormy Ori-
on :

Cum subito assurgens fluctu nimbosus Orion.
^M. i. 535.
And again :

Dum Pelago desaevit hyems, et aquosus Orion.
^N. iv. 52.

In another description of Orion by
Virgil, it is represented as armed with
gold, or surrounded by a yellow light :

Arcturum, pluviasque Hyades, geminosquo

Triones,
Armatumque auro circumspicit Oriona.

JEy. iii. 516, 517

According to the fancy of the an-
cients, Orion was a mighty hunter,
the attendant of Diana, wlio having
offered violence to her was stung to
death by a scorpion which she had
provided for that purpose. After his
death he was translated to heaven,
and made a constellation. Others
say that he was the son of Neptune
and Q,ueen Euryale, a famous Ama-
zonian huntress ; and possessing the
disposition of his mother, he became
the greatest hunter in the world, and
made a boast that there was no ani-
mal on earth that he could not sub-
due. To punish this vanity, it is said
that a scorpion sprang out of the
earth and bit his foot, so that he died,
but that at the request of Diana he
was placed among the stars, and di-
rectly opposite to the scorpion that
caused his death. On the names
given to this constellation in Arabic,
and the origin of the name Orio7i
among the Greeks, see Idfeler, Unter.
Ober den Urs. u. die Bedeut. der
Stern, s. 212-227, 331-336. The
name El-dscehbdr, the giant, or /tcro,
is that which is commonly given to

144

JOB.

It in Arabic. The constellation Orion
is usually mentioned by the ancients
as connc'cted with storms, and hence
is called jiiiubosiis Orion by Virgil,
and Iristis Orion by Horace. The
reason of this was, that its rising usu-
ally occurred at those seasons of the
year when storms prevailed, and
hence it was supposed to be their
cause — as we connect the rising of
the dog-star with the idea of intense
heat. The situation of Orion is on
the equator, midway between the
poles of the heavens. It comes to
the meridian about the 23d of Janu-
ary. The whole number of visible
stars in it is seventy-eight, of which
two are of the first magnitude, four of
the second, three of the third, and
fifteen of the fourth. It is regarded
as the most beautiful of the constella-
tions, and when it is on the meridian
there is then above the horizon the
most magnificent view of the celestial
bodies that the firmament exhibits.
On the celestial maps it is represent-
ed bv the figure of a man in the atti-
tude of assaulting the Bull, with a
sword in his belt, a huge club in his
right hand, and a lion-skin in the left
to serve him for a shield. The prin-
cipal stars are four, in the form of a
long square or parallelogram, inter-
sected by the " Tliree Stars" in the
middle called "The EH and the
Yard." The two upper ones are
represented one on each shoulder,
and of the two lower ones one is in
the left foot, and the other on the
right knee. The position of the con-
stellation may be seen by any one by
remarking that the "Three Stars"
in the l)clt are those which point to
the Pleiades or seven stars on the one
side, and to the dog-star on the other.
This constellation is mentioned by
Homer, as it is indeed by most of the
classic writers :
Y\\t\iaiai Gi*f^a6ai tc, ro, re adtvoi 'Qpiu^voi.

II. a.
It may furnish an illustration of the
raatjiess of the starry lu^avens to re-
mark, that in the sword of the con-
stellation Orion there is a nehula
which is almost visible to the naked

eye, which is computed to be 2,200,
000,000,000,000,000, or two trillions,
two hundred thousand billions times
lar^^er than the sun ! Dr. Dick, Chr.
Keepsake for 1840, p. 184. If, then,
Job, with his limited viev/s of astron-
omy, saw in this constellation an
impressive proof of the greatness of
the Almighty, how much more sub-
lime should beo2irviev/sof God ! We
see this constellation not merely as a
beautiful object in the sky — a collec-
tion of bright and beautiful gems —
but we see it as so vast as to surpass
our comprehension, and behold in it
a single nebula, or speck — not quite
visible to the naked eye — that mocks
all our powers of conception ! It
may be added, that by the aid of a
telescope about two thousand stars
have been seen in this constellation.
M ^nd Pleiades. The seven stars.
The Hebrew word is •^'9'^'?? Idrtid, a
heap or cluster. The name is given
to the cluster of stars in the neck of
the constellation Taurus, of which
seven are the principal. Six or sev-
en may be usually seen if the eye is
directed towards it j but if the eye be
turned carelessly aside while the
attention is fixed on the group, many
more may be seen. For, "it is a
very remarkable fact," says Sir John
Herschell, "that the centre of the
visual organ is by far less sensible
to feeble impressions of light than the
exterior portion of the retina." Ast.
p. 398. Telescopes show fifty or
sixty large stars there crowded toge-
ther into a small space. Rheita af-
firms that he counted two hundred
stars in this small cluster. In regard
to the Pleiades, Ideler makes the fol-
lowing remarks. " These stars were
by the ancients sometimes denoted
by the singular, Jllfiaq, Plcias, and
sometimes by the plural, IlXftddiq
(in metrical composition, IJktfiddfc;),
Pleiades. They are mentioned by
Homer, Hi. a. 486, Od. f . 272, and by
Hesiod, 'E(,y. 383, 615. Hesiod
mentions the cluster as the daughter
of Atlas — 'Ar).ayfVHq. The name
Atlantidrs, which so often occurs
among the Romans, signifies the same

CHAPTER IX.

145

thing. Their mytnological names
are Alcyone, Merope, Celseno, Elec-
tra, Sterope or Asterope, Taygate,
and Maia. There is some uncertainty
among the ancient writers whence
tlie name Pleiades is derived. Among
most etymok)gists, the name has re-
spect to navigation, and the deriva-
tion is from arch roi nXnv — because
the time of navigation commenced
with the rising of the Pleiades in the
first part of May, and ended with
their setting in the first part of No-
vember. But perhaps the name is
derived simply from nXtoq, nhloq,
full, so that it merely denotes a con-
densed assemblage of stars, which
Manilius, iv. 523, expresses by glo-
laerahile s'ldus. Aratus, v. 257, says
that the Pleiades were called fnrd-
TZoooi — those tvhich walked in seven
paths, although but six stars can be
seen. In a similar sense Ovid, speak-
ing of the Pleiades, says,

Q.UGB septem dici, sex tamen esse solent.

Fast. iv. 170.

Hipparchus, on the contrary, affirms
that in a clear night, when there is
no moon, seven stars can be seen.
The difference of these views is easily
explained. The group consists of
one star of the third magnitude, three
of the fifth, two of the sixth, and
many smaller stars. It requires a
very keen vision to be able to dis-
tinguish in the group more than six
stars. Since, therefore, among the
ancients, it was commonly believed
that there were no more than six,
and yet among them, as with us, tlie
name the seven stars was given to
them, tlie opinion arose that one star
of the seven had been lost. Some
supposed that it had been smitten by
lightning, others that it had united
itself to the middle star in the tail of
the Ursa Major, and others gave to
the belief a mythic signification, as is
mentioned by Ovid in the place above
referred to. The Romans called the
Pleiades VergilicB, because they arose
in the spring. The Arabians called
these stars El-thoreja — meaning abun-
dant, copious, and answering to the
Greek 7t).iidq, Pleias. The Asiatic

poets Sadi, Hafiz, and others, always
mention these stars as a beautiful ro-
sette, with one brilliant. Sadi, in
the description of a beautiful garden,
says, ' The ground was strewed with
pieces of enamel, and bands of Plei-
ades appeared to hang on the branch-
es of the trees.' Hafiz says, 'The
heavens bear up thy poems — the
pearly rosette of the Pleiades as the
seal of immortality.' Beigel, who
has translated these poets, adds, ' In
this genuine Oriental spirit must we
understand the words of Job, " Canst
thou bind the brilliant rosettes of the
Pleiades .''" that is, Who can say that
he has placed this collection of bril-
liants as a rosette in the sky .''' " Me-
ier, Untersuchungen ii den Urs. u.
die Bedeut. der Sternnamcn, S. 143-
] 47. TT And the chambers of the south.
What is the exact idea to be attached
to this expression, it is not easy to
say. Probably it means the remote
regions of the south, or the part of
the heavens which is not visible to
the inhabitants of the northern hemi-
sphere. The word rendered cham-
bers means in the Scriptures a private
apartment of a dwelling ; a part that
is separated from the rest by a cur-
tain ; a harem, tfec. Hence it may
mean the abodes of the stars in the
south — comparing the heavens with
an immense tent, and regarding it as
divided into separate apartments.
It may mean here the stars which are
hidden, as it were, in the recesses of
the southern hemisphere, like the
private apartments of a house, which
all were not allowed to enter. There
are some intimations in the book of
Job that the true structure of the earth
was not unknown at that remote pe-
riod of the world (comp. Notes, oh,
xxvi. 7) ; and if so, then this may
refer to the constellations in the south
which are invisible to an inhabitant
of the northern hemisphere. There
is no impropriety, at any rate, in sup-
posing that tiiose who had travelled
into the south had brought reports of
stars and constellations seen there
which are invisible to an inhabitant
of northern Arabia.

146

JOB.

10 Which doeth great things
past finding out; yea, and won-
ders without nuniher.

J 1 Lo, lie goetli by me, and I
see ////// not : he passeth on also,
but I ])erceive him not.

12 Behold, he taketh away,

10. Which docth great things. This
is almost tlie sentiment which had
been expressed by Ehphaz. See
Notes, eh. v. 9. It was evidently a
proverb, and as such was used by
both Eliphaz and Job.

11. Lo^ he gocth by me. That is,
ho passes ah)ng — as in the silent
movements of the Jieavenly bodies.
' I see the evidence of iiis existence.
I can see that God must be there —
moving along by me in the orbs of
iiiglit and in the march of the con-
stL-lhitions, but I cannot see God him-
self He passes hij^ or rather he
passes over me Cdrj), as in the ma-
jestic movement of the heavenly
bodies over my head.' This is, I
think, the idea, and the image is ex-
ceedingly poetic and beautiful. The
heavens are seen to move in silent
grandeur. The northern constella-
tion rolls around the pole. The
others move on as a marshalled
army. They go in silent and solemn
order, and God must he there. But,
says Job, I cannot see him. I can feel
that he must be there, and I look out
on the heavens to see him, but my eyes
fiil, and I cannot behold him. He
passes on, and I see him not. Who
has ever looked upon the heavens in
the still night, and seen the silent
grandeur of such movements of the
heavenly host, without some such
feeling — some emotion of inexpressi-
ble awe — as if he, if I may so express

It, COCI.I) ALMOST SEK GoD .'

12. Behold, he taketh aicmj. Pro-
perty, friends, or life. IF Who can
hinder him f iMarg. Turn him awatj.
Or, rather, 'who shall cause him to
restore.-' i. e. who can bring back
what he takes away ? He is so
mighty, that what he removes, it is

who can hinder ' him 1 who **
will say unto him. What doest
thou ?

13 If God will not withdraw
his anger, the ^ proud helpers do
stoop under him.

1 turn him away 1 c. 11. 10. a Da. 4. 35

2 helpers of pride, of; strength.

impossible for us to recover TI Ulio
iciil say unto him, What doest thou ?
A similar expression occurs in Dan,
iv. 35. The meaning is plain. God
has a right to remove any thing
which we possess. Our friends,
property, health, and lives, are his
gift, and he has a right to them all.
When he takes them away, he is but
taking that which is his own, and
which has been lent to us for a little
time, and which he has a right to re-
move when it seems good to him.
This truth Job fully admits, and in
the calm contemplation of all his
losses and liis sorrows, he acknow-
ledges that God had a right to do as
he had done. See Note, ch. i. 21.

13. If God will not withdraw his
anger. That is, if he perseveres in
inflicting punishment. He will not
turn aside his displeasure by any
opposition or resistance made to him.
If The proud helpers. Marg. Help-
ers of pride, or, strength. Jerome
renders this, " under whom they
v/ho bear up the world bow down "
The LXX, not less singularly, " by
him the whales [or monsters — k?/T7/]
which are under heaven, are bowed
down." Codurcus renders it, " aids
of pride," and understands by it all
the things on which proud men rely,
as wealth, health, rank, talent. So
Dr. Good renders it, *' the supports
of the proud." The meaning is,
probably, that all those things which
contribute to the support o^ pride, or
all those persons who are allied toge-
ther to maintain the dominion ot
pride on the earth, must sink under
the wrath of God. Or it may refer
to those who s-ustain the pride of
state and empire — the men who
stand around the thrones ofmonarchs.

CHAPTER IX.

147

14 How much less shall I an-
swer him, and choose out my
words to reason with him 1

15 Whom, though I were

and who contribute, by their talent
and power, to uphold the pomp and
magnificence of courts. On the
meaning of the word here rendered
•pride ("n";), sec Notes on Isa. xxx. 7.

14. How much less shali I ansxoer
him? I, who am so feeble, how can
1 contend with him : If the most
mighty objects in the universe are
under his control ; if the constella-
tions are directed by him ; if the
earth is shaken, and mountains
moved from tlieir places, by his
power, and if the men of most ex-
alted rank are prostrated by him,
how can I presume to contend v/ith
(lod ? This is the common view
which is given of the passage, and is
evidently that which our translators
entertained. But I have given in
the translation what appears to me
to be a more literal version, and
to express a better sense — though,
I confess, the translation differs from
all that I have seen. According
to this, the sense is simply, that such
was the veneration which Job had
Tor the character of God, that should
ho attempt to answer him, he vv'ould
select his words with the utmost care
and attention.

15. Whom, though I loerc righteous.
That is, if I felt the utmost confi-
dence that I was righteous, yet, if
God judged otherwise, and regarded
me as a sinner, 1 would not reply to
him, but would make supplication to
liini as a sinner. I would have so
much confidence in him, and would
feel that he was so much better quali-
fied than I am to judge, and that I am
so liable to be deceived, that I would
come to him as a sinner, if he judged
and declared me to be one, and would
plead for pardon. The meaning is,
that God is a much bette" judge of
our character than we can possibly
be, and that his regarding us as sin-
ners is the highest proof that we are

righteous, yet would I not an-
swer, but "■ I would make suppli-
cation to my judge.

a c. 34.31.

such, whatever may be our views to
the contrary. This shows the extent
of the confidence which Job had in
God, and is an indication of true piety.
And it is founded in reason as well
as in piety. Men often suppose that
they are righteous, and yet they know
that God adjudges otherwise, and re-
gards them as sinners. He offers
them pardon as sinners. He threat-
ens to punish them as sinners. The
question is, whether they shall act on
their own feelings and judgment in
the case, or on his .-' Shall they ad-
here obstinately to their views, and
refuse to yield to God, or shall they
act on the truth of his declarations .-'
Now that Job was right in his views
of the case, may appear from the
following considerations. (1.) God
knows the heart. He cannot be de-
ceived ; loe maybe. In nothing are
we more liable to be deceived than in
regard to our own character. We
sliould, therefore, distrust our own
judgment in this case, but we should
never distrust God. (2.) God is in
finitely benevolent, and will not
judge unkindly. He has no wish to
find us sinners ; he will have no
pleasure in making us out to be trans-
gressors. A heart of infinite bene-
volence would prefer to find all men
holy, and would look on every favora-
ble circumstance in the case with all
the kindness which it would deserve.
No being would be so likely to make
a favorable decision in our case as
the infinitely benevolent God ; none
would so delight to find that we were
free from the charge of guilt. (3.)
God will act on his own views of
our character, and not on ours ; and it
is prudent and wise, therefore, for us
to act on his views now. He will
judge us in the last day according to
his estimate of our character, and not
according to the estimate which ^cc
may form. (4.) At the same time»

us

JOB.

16 If I had called, and he had
answered me, yd would I not
believe that he had hearkened
unto my voice.

17 For he brcuketh me with
a tempest, and multiplieth my
wounds without cause.

we cannot but accord with his views
of our own character. Our reason
.•ind conscience tell us that we have
viohitcd his laws, and that v/e have
no claim to his mercy. No man can
persuade himself that he is wholly
ri£;hteous; and being conscious of
guilt, though in the slighest degree,
he should make supplication to his
Judge.

l(i. If I had called^ and he had an-
swered mc. It is remarked by Schul-
tens, that the exj)ressions in these
verses are all taken from courts of
justi('e. If so, the meaning is, that
even if Job should call the Almighty
to a judicial action, and he should
respond to him, and consent to sub-
mit the great question about his inno-
cence, and about the justice of the
divine dealings with him, to trial, yet
that such was the distance between
(lod and him, that he could not hope
successfully to contend with him in
the argument. He would, therefore,
prostrate himself in a suppliant man-
ner, and implore his mercy and com-
j)assion — submitting to him as having
ail power, and as being a just and
rigiiteous Sovereign. H Would I not
brlierc. I cannot believe that he
would enter into my complaint. He
deals with me in a manner so severe ;
he acts towards me so much as a
sovereign, that I have no reason to
Htipj)os(; that he would not continue
to act towarrlsme in the same way still.

17. For he brcaheth vie. lie is
(ivervvhelming me with a tempest;
that is, with tlie storms of wrath.
He shows me no mercy. 'J'lic idea
seems to be, that God acted towards
him not as a judge determining mat-
ters by rule of law, but as a sovereign
— determining them by his own will.

18 He will not sufFer me to
take my breath, but fiileth me
with bitterness.

19 If I speak of strength, lo,
he is strong : and if of judgment,
who shall set me a time to
plead ?

If it were a matter of law ; if he
could come before him as a judge,
and maintain his cause there ; if the
case could be fairly adjudicated whe-
ther he deserved the calamities tliat
came upon him, he would be willing
to enter into such a trial. But where
the matter was determined solely by
will, and God acted as a sovereign,
doing as he pleased, and giving no
account of his matters to any one,
then it would be useless to argue the
cause. He would not know w4iat to
e.xpect, or understand the principles
on which an adjudication would be
made. It is true that God acts as a
sovereign, but he does not act with-
out reference to law. He dispenses
his favors and his judgments as he
pleases, but he violates none of the
rules of right. The error of Job was
the common error which men com-
mit, that if God acts as a sovereign,
he must of course act regardless of
laio, and that it is vain to plead with
him or try to please him. But sove-
reignty is not necessarily inconsistent
with respect for law ; and He who
presides with the most absolute power
over the universe, is He who is most
directed by the rule of right. In Him
sovereignty and law' coincide ; and
to come to Him as a sovereign, is to
come with the assurance that supreme
rectitude will be done. H A7id mui-
tiplieth my icounds without cause.
That is, without sufficient reason.
This is in accordance with the views
which Job had repeatedly expressed.
The main ground of his complaint
was, that his sufferings were dispro-
portionate to his faults.

18. lie tcill not suffer me to take
my breath. See Notes on ch. vii. 19.

19. If I speak of strength, lo, he i«

CHAPTER IX.

149

20 If I justify myself, mine
own mouth shall condemn me :

strong. There has been a consider-
able variety in the interpretation of
this passage. Tlic meaning seems to
be tliis. It refers to a judicial con-
test, and Job is speaking of the effect
if lie and God were to come to a trial,
and tlie cause were to be settled be-
fore judges. He is urging reasons
why he would hiive no hope of suc-
cess in such a case. He says, there-
fore, ' If the matter pertained only to
strength^ or if it were to be determin-
ed hij strengtli, lo, he is more mighty
than I au), and 1 could have no hope
of success in such a controversy : and
if the controversy was one of jitdg-
ment, i. e. of justice or right, I have
no one to manage my cause — no one
that could cope with him in the plead-
ings— no one who could equal him in
setting forth my arguments, or pre-
senting my side of the case. It would,
therefore, be wholly an unequal con-
test, where I could have no hope of
success ; and I am unwilling to en-
gage in such a controversy or trial
with God. My interest, my duty,
and the necessity of the case, re-
quire me to submit the case with-
out argument, and I will not at-
tempt to plead with my Maker.' That
there wa^ a want of right feeling in
this, must be apparent to all. There
was evidently the secret belief that
God had dealt with him severely;
that he had gone beyond his deserts
in inflicting pain on him, and that he
was under a necessity of submitting
not so much to justice and right as to
mere power and sovereignty. But
who has not had something of this
feeling when deeply afflicted .'' And
yet who, when lie has had it, has
not felt that it was far from being
what it should be ? Our feeling
should be, 'we deserve all that we
suffer, and more than we have yet
endured. God is a sovereign ; but
He is right. Though he afflicts us
much, and others little, yet it is not
because he is unjust, but because he
sees that there is some good reason

If I say, I am perfect, it shall
also prove me perverse.

why we should sufi'er. That reason
may be seen yet by us, but if not, we
should never doubt that it exists.' *\\
Who shall set vie a time to plead .'
Noyes renders this, " Who shall
summon me to trial V Dr. Good,
" Who should become a witness for
me.'"' The sense is, ' Who would
summon witnesses for me .'' If it was
a mere trial of strength, God is too
mighty for me ; if it were a question
of justice, who would compel witness-
es to come on my side .'' Who could
make them willing to appear against
God, and to bear testimony for me in
a controversy with tiie Almighty V

20. If I justify myself mine oicn
mouth shall condemn me. That is,
referring still to the form of a judicial
trial, if 1 should undertake to manage
my own cause, I should lay myself
open to condemnation even in my
argument on the subject, and should
show that I was far from the perfec-
tion which I had undertaken to main-
tain. By passionate expressions ; by
the language of complaint and mur-
muring ; by a want of suitable rever-
ence ; by showing my ignorance of
the principles of the divine govern-
ment ; by arguments unsound and
based on false positions ; or by con-
tradictions and self-refutations, I
should shov/ that my position was
untenable, and that God was right in
charging me with guilt. In some or
in all of these ways Job felt, proba-
bly, that in an argument before God
he would be self-condemned, and
that even an attempt to justify him-
self, or to prove that he was innocent,
would prove that he was guilty.
And is it not always so .? Did a man
ever yet undertake to repel the charges
of guilt brought against him by his
Maker, and to prove that he was in-
nocent, in which lie did not himself
shcxw the truth of what he was deny-
ing ? Did not his false views of God
and of his law ; his passion, murmur-
ing, and irreverence ; his unwilling-
ness to admit the force of the palpable

150

JOB.

21 Though I icere perfect, yet

considerations urged to prove that lie
was giiiltv, demonstrate that he was
at Jjcart a sinner, and that he was
insubrnissivc and rebellious ? The
very attempt to enter into such an
argument against God, shows that the
heart is not right ; and the manner
in which such an argument is com-
monly conducted demonstrates that
he wlio does it is sinful. H If I say
/ am perfect. Should I attempt to |
maintain such an argument, the very j
attempt would prove that my heart is
perverse and evil. It would do this
because God had adjudged the con-
trary, and because such an effort
would show an insubmissive and a
DToud heart. This passage shows that
Job did not regard himself as a man
absolutely free from sin. He was
indeed said (cli. i. 1.) to be 'peifect
and uprightV but this verse piovrs
that that testimony in regard to him
was not inconsistent with his con-
sciousness of guilt. See the Notes
on that verse. And is not the claim
to absolute perfection in this world
always a proof that the heart is per-
verse .'' Does not the very setting up
of such a claim in fact indicate a pride
of heart, a self-satisfaction, and an
ignorance of the true state of the soul,
which is full demonstration that the
heart is far from being perfect ? God
adjudges man to be exceedingly sin-
ful ; and if I do not mistake the mean-
ing of the Scriptures, this is his testi-
mony of every human heart — totally
until renewed — partially ever on-
ward till death. If this be the account
in the Scriptures, then the claim to
absolute perfection is prima facie, if
not full proof, that the heart is in some
way perverse. It has come to a dif-
ferent conclusion from that of God.
It sets up an argument against him —
and there can be no more certain
proof of a want of perfection than
such an attempt. There is in this
verse an energy in the original which
is very feebly conveyed by our trans-
lation. It is tiie language of strong
and decided indignation at the very

would I not know my soul: I

idea of asserting that he was perfect,
"^JX Cn — ^perfect I r or, ^ I perfect !
The thought is absurd ! It can only
prove that I am perverse to attempt
to set up any such claim !' Stuhlman
renders this,

" However good I may be, I must condemr.

myself J
However free from guilt, I must call myself

evil:"

and explains it as meaning, ' God
can through the punishments which
he inflicts constrain me to confess,
against the clear consciousness of my
innocence, that I am guilty.'

21. Though / were perfect. The
same mode of expression occurs here
again. 'I perfect! I would not
know it, or recognize it. If this were
my view, and God judged otherwise,
I would seem to be ignorant of it. I
would not mention it.' H Yet would
I not knoiD my soul. Or, ' I could
not know my soul. If I should ad-
vance such a claim, it must be from
my ignorance of myself.' Is not this
true of all the claims to perfection
which have ever been set up by man ^
Do they not demonstrate that he is ig-
norant of his own nature and charac-
ter .? So clear does this seem to me,
that I have no doubt that Job expressed
more than three thousand years ago
what will be found true to the end of
time — that if a man advances the
claim to absolute perfection, it is con-
clusive proof that he does not know
his own heart. A superficial view
of ourselves, mingled with pride and
vanity, may lead us to think that we
are wholly free from sin. But who
can tell what he would be if placed in
other circumstances .'' Who knows
what latent depravity would be de-
veloped if he were thrown into temp-
tation.s ? 11 / icould despise my life.
Dr. Good, I think, has well expressed
the sense of this. According to his
interpretation, it means that the claim
of perfection would be in fact disown-
ing all the consciousness which he
had of sinfulness; all the arguments
and convictions pressed on him by

CHAPTER IX.

151

would despise my life.

22 This is one thing, there-
fore I said it, He " destroyeth
the perfect and the wicked.

23 If the scourge slay sud-

a Eze.21.3.

his reason and conscience, that he
was a guilty man. Schultens, how-
ever, has given an interpretation
which slightly differs from this, and
one which Rosenmiillcr prefers. ' Al-
though I should be wholly conscious
of innocence, yet tiuit clear conscious-
ness could not sustain me against the
infinite splendor of the divine glory
and majesty ; but I should be com-
pelled to appear ignorant of my own
r.oul, and to reprobate, ccmdemn, and
despise my life passed with integrity
and virtue.' This interpretation is
in accordance with tiie connection,
and may be sustained by the Hebrew.
22. This is o?ie tiling, llirrcforc I
said it. This may inean, 'it is all
the same thing, it makes no difler-
ence whether a man be righteous or
wicked. God treats them substan-
tially alike ; he has one and the same
rule on the subject. Nothing can be
argued certainly about tiie character
of a man from the divine dealings
with him here.' This was the point
in dispute, this the position that Job
maintained — that God did not deal
with men here in strict accordance
with their character, but that the
righteous and the wici^ed in this
world were afflicted alike. IT He
deslroyeth the perfect and the toicked.
He makes no distinction among
them. Tliat Job was right in this
.his main position there can be no
doubt; and tlie wonder is, that his
friends did not all see it. But it
required a long time in the course of
events, and much observation and
discussion, before tliis important
point was made clear. With otir full
views of the state of retribution in
the future world, we can have no
doubt on the subject. Heavy and
sudden judgments do not necessarily

denly, he will laugh at the trial
of the innocent.

24 The earth is given into the
hand of the wicked : he covereth
the faces of the judges thereof;
if not, where, and who is he ?

prove that they who are cut off are
peculiarly guilty, and long prosperity
is no evidence that a man is holy.
Calamity, by fire and flood, on a
steamboat, or in the pestilence, does
not demonstrate the peculiar and emi-
nent wickedness of those who suffer
(comp. Luke xiii. 1-5), nor should
those who escape from such calami-
ties infer that of necessity they are
the objects of the divine favor.

23. If the scourge slay suddenly.
If calamity comes in a sudden and
unexpected manner. Dr. Good, fol-
lowing Reiske, translates this, "if he
suddenly slay the oppressor," under-
standing the word scourge (UITIJ) as
tneaning an oppressor, or one whom
God employs as a scourge of nations.
But this is contrary to all the ancient
version.?. The word ^1^^ means
properly a whip, a scourge (comp.
Notes on ch. v. 21), and then calam-
ity or affliction sent by God upon
men. Such is clearly the case here.
IT He 2ci(l laugh at the trial of the
innocent. That is, he seems to dis-
regard or to be pleased with their
trials. He does not interpose to res-
cue them. He seems to look calmly
on, and sufiers them to be over-
whelmed with others. This is a
poetic expression, and cannot mean
that God derides the trials of the
innocent, or viochs their sufferings.
It means tliat he seems to be inatten-
tive to them ; he suffers the righteous
and the wicked to be swept away
together as if he were regardless of
character.

24. The earth is given into the hand
of the wicked. This is evidently
designed as an illustration of the sen-
timent that Job was maintaining —
that there was not a distribution of

152

JOB.

25 Now my days are s^vifter I than a post : they flee away, they

rewards and punishments in this life
according to character. In illustra-
tion of this, he says that the wicked
are raised to places of trust and
power. They exercise a wide domin-
ion over the earth, and the world is
under their control. Of the truth of
this there can ho Jio doubt. Rulers
have been, in general, eminent for
wickedness, and the atfairs of nations
have thus far been almost always
under the control of those who are
strangers to God. At the present
time there is scarcely a pious man on
any throne in the_ world, and the
rulers of even Christian nations are
in general eminent for any thing
rather than for personal religion.
I He covcrcth the faces of the judges
thereof There has been considerable
variety in the e.xposition of this
expression. Some suppose that it
ref*:rs to the wicked, meaning that
they cover the faces of the judges
under them so that they connive at
and tolerate crime. Others, that it
means that God blinds the eyes of
wicked rulers, so that they connive
at crime, and are partial and unjust
in their decisions. Others, that it
means that God covers the faces of
the judges oi' the earth with shame
and confusion, that though he admits
them to prosperity and honor for a
time, yet that he overwhelms them
at length with calamities and sor-
rows. Dr. Good supposes it to mean
that the earth is given over into the
hands of injustice, and that this
hoodwinks the faces of the judges.
The phrase proj)erIy means, to hood-
wink, to blind, to conceal the face.
It seems to me that the true sense is
not expressed by cither of the views
abov<;. The parallelism requires us
to understand it as meaning that
while the wicked liad dominion over
the earth, the righteous were in
obscurity, or were not advanced to
honor and power. The word ^^ judg-
es," tln?rcfore,I think is to be under-
stood of the righteous judges, of
those who arc qualified to administer

justice. Their face is covered. They
are kept in concealment. The
wicked have the sway, and they are
doomed to shame, obscurity, and
dishonor. This interpretation accords
with the tenor of the argument, and
may be sustained by the Hebrew^,
though I have not found jt in any oi
the commentaries which I have con-
sulted. H If not, tchere, and who is
he? If this is not a just view, who
is God'' What are his dealings.''
Where is he to be seen, and how is
he to be known : Or, it may mean,
'if it is not God who does these
strange things, who is it that does
them V RosemnilUcr. But I prefer
the former interpretation. ' Tell me
who and what God is, if this is not a
fair and just account of him. These
things in fact are done, and if the
agency of God is not employed in
them, who is God ? And where is
his agency seen .'"

25. JVow my days are swifter than
a post. Than a -courier, runner, or
racer, Y^. Vulg. cursor e; LXX,
doofifojq, a racer. TJie word is not
unfrequently applied to the runners
or couriers, that carried royal com-
mands in ancient times. It is applied
to the mounted couriers of the Per-
sians who carried the royal edicts to
the distant provinces, Est. iii. 13,15,
xviii. 14, and to the body-guard and
royal messengers of Saul and of David,
1 Sam. xxii. 17, 2 Kings x.25. The
common rate of travelling in the East
is exceedingly slow. The caravans
move little more than two miles an
hour. Couriers are however employed
who go either on dromedaries, on
horses, or on foot, and who travel with
great rapidity. Lady Montague says
that " after the defeat at Peter wara-
din,they [the couriers on dromeda-
ries] far outran the fleetest horses, and
brought the first news of the battle at
Belgrade." The messengers in Bar-
bary who carry despatches, it is said,
will run one hundred and fifty miles
in twenty-four hours (Harmer's Ob-
serva. ii. 200, cd. 1808), and it has

CHAPTER IX.

153

«ee no good.

26 They are passed away as
Ihe ' swift ships ; as the eagle
\hat hasteth to the prey.

27 If I say, I will forget my

1 ships of desire, or, shi-ps ofEbeh.

been said that the messengers among
the American savages would run an
hundred and twenty miles in the
twenty-four hours. In Egypt, it is a
common thing for an Arab on foot to
accompany a rider, and to keep up
with the horse when at full gallop,
and to do this for a longtime without
apparent fatigue. The meaning of
Job here is, that his life was short,
and that his days were passing swift-
ly away, not like the slow caravan,
but like the most fleet messenger.
Comp. Note eh. vii. 6. ^ They see
no good. 1 am not permitted to
enjoy happiness. My life is a life of
misery.

26. They are passed aioay as the
swift ships. Marg. Ships of desire;
or ships of Ebeh. Heb. nn5< ni'3i<.
Vulg. JVaves poma portantes. Sept.
"Is there any track left by ships in
their passage.?" Tlie Clialdee ren-
ders it as the Vulgate, " Ships bear-
ing good fruit j" that is, as such fruit
was perishable, haste was required in
order to reach the place of destina-
tion. Our translators were evidentlv
perplexed by the word H^X — ebeh^
as appears by their placing two differ-
ent phrases in the margin. " Ships
of desire," denotes the value or de-
sirableness of such ships ; and the
phrase, " Ships of Ebeh," denotes
their confession of ignorance as to
the meaning of the word. Gesenius
explains the word to mean reed,
bulrush, or papyrus — from an Arabic
use of the word, and supposes
that the reference is to the light ves-
sels made of the papyrus, which
wer5 used on the Nile. See Notes
on lea. xviii. 2. Such vessels would
be distinguished for the ease with
which they might be rowed, and the
rapidity of their motion. Chardin

complaint, I will leave off my
heaviness, and comfort myself;

28 I am afraid of all my sor-
rows, I know that thou wilt not
hold me innocent.

supposes that the reference is to ves-
sels that were made to go on the
Euphrates or the Tigris, and that
were borne along with the rapid cur-
rent. The supposition of an allusion
to any boat or vessel under full sail,
will be in accordance with the lan-
guage here, though the probability is,
that the reference is to the light ves-
sels, made of reeds, that might be
propelled with so much fleetness.
Sails were frequently used, also, for
such vessels. If Jis the eagle that
hasteth to the prey. A .striking
emblem of rapidity. Few things
can be more rapid than the motion
of the eagle, as he darts upon his
victim.

27. If I say, I will forget my com-
plaint. If I resolve that I will leave
off complaining, and will be more
cheerful, I find it all in vain. My
fears and sorrows return, and all my
efforts to be cheerful are ineffectual.
IT I iciU leave off my heaviness. The
v/ord rendered " my iieaviness" here
(^jQ) denotes literally vny /ace; and
the reference is to the sad and sor-
rowful countenance which he had.
" If I should lay that aside, and en-
deavor to be cheerful." IT ^nd com-
fort myself. The word rendered
comfort here (^?^) in Arabic means
to be bright, to shine forth ; and it
would here be better rendered by
brighten up. We have the same ex-
pression still when we say to one
who is sad and melancholy, ' bright-
en up ; be cheerful.' The meaninj^-
here is, that Job endeavored to ap-
pear pleasant and cheerful, but it was
in vain. His sorrows pressed heavily
on him, and weighed down his spirits
in spite of himself, and made him sad.

28. / am afraid of all my sorrows.
My fears return. I dread the con-

154

JOB.

29 If I be wicked, why then
labor I in vain ?

a .le. 2. 22.

tinuance of my griefs, and cannot
close my eye to them. IT Thou wilt
not hold me innocent. God will not
ri'inovo my sorrows so as to furnish
tlic cvidi-nce that I am innocent.
M\ sufferings continue, and with
thorn continue all the evidence on
which my friends rely that I am a
guilty man. In such a state of things,
how can I be otherwise than sad .''
He was held to be guilty ; he was
surtering in such a way as to afford
them the proof that he was so, and
how could he be cheerful .?

29. If / he icicJccd, why then labor I
in rain? The word "if," here in-
troduced by our translators, greatly
obscures the sense. The meauing
'jvidently is, ' I am held to be guilty,
and cannot answer to that charge.
God regards me as such, and if I
should attempt to meet him on the
charge, it would be a vain attempt ;
and I must admit its truth. It would
be labor in vain to deny it against
one so mighty as he is.' This inter-
pretation accords with the argument
in the whole chapter. Job maintains
that it would be in vain to contend
with God, and he gives up the argu-
ment in despair. It is quite evident,
however, that he does not do it so
much because he is convinced iiim-
self, as because he knows that God is
great, and that it would be useless to
contend with him. There is evi-
dently implied all along the feeling
tliat if he was able to cope with God
in the argument, the result would be
different. As it is, he submits-r-not
hocause he is convinced., but because
he is weak; not because he sees that
Gud is ri(rht., but because he sees that
he is powerful. How much submis-
sion f)f this kind is there in the world
— submission, not to right., but to
power; submission to God, not be-
cause he is seen to be wise and good,
but because he is seen to be almighty,
and it is vain to attempt to oppose

30 If '^ I wash myself with
snow water, and make my hands
never so clean :

him ! It is needless to say that such
feelings evince no true submission.

30. If I wash myself vsith snow
icater. If I should make myself as
pure as possible, and should become,
in my view, perfectly holy. Snow
water, it seems, was regarded as pe-
culiarly pure. The whiteness of snow
itself perhaps suggested the idea that
the water of melted snow was better
than other for purification. Wash-
ing the hands formerly w-as an em-
blem of cleansing from guilt. Hence
Pilate, when he gave up the Saviour
to death, took water and washed his
hands before the multitude, and said
that he was innocent of his blood.
Matth. xxvii. 24. The expression
here used by Job, also is imitated by
the Psalmist, to denote his inno-
cence :

I will wash mine hands in innocency :
So will I compass thine altar, O Lord.

Ps. xxvi. 6.
Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain,
And washed my hands in innocency.

Ps. Ixxiii. 13.

So in Shakspeare, Richard III.:

How fain, like Pilate, would I wash my hands
Of this most giievous, guilty murder done !

IT Jind make my hands never so
clean. Or, rather, should I cleanse
my hands with lye, or alkali. The
word 'IS, bor, means properly purity,
cleanliness, pureness ; and then it is
used to denote that which cleanses,
alkali, lye, or vegetable salt. The an-
cients made use of this, mingled with
oil, instead of soap, for the purpose
of washing, and also in smelting
metals, to make them melt more
readily. See Notes on Isa. i. 25.
The Chaldee renders it accurately,
^^•n^^ — in soap. I have no doubt
that this is the sense, and that Job
means to say, if he should make use
of the purest water and of soap to
cleanse himself, still he would be re-
garded as impure. God would throw
him at once into the ditch, and ho

CHAPTER VIII.

155

31 Yet slialt thou plunge me
in the ditch, and mine own
clothes shall ' abhor me.

32 For lie is not a man, as I

1 make vie to be abhorred.

would be covered with moral filth
and defilement again in his sight.

31. Yet shalt thou ■plunge me in
the ditch. God would treat me as
if lie should throw me into the gutter,
and as if I were wholly defiled and
polluted. The meaning is, God would
not admit the proofs which I should
adduce of my innocence, but would
overwhelm me with the demon-
strations of my guilt. I doubt not
that Job urged this with some degree
of impatience, and with some im-
proper feelings. He felt, evidently,
that God was so great and powerful,
that it was vain to contend with him.
But it is true in a higher and more
important sense than he seems to
have understood it. After all the
efljorts which we can make to justify,
vindicate, or purify ourselves, it is in
the power of God to overwhelm us
with the consciousness of guilt. He
has access to the heart. He can
show us our past sins. He can recall
what we have forgotten, and over-
whelm us with the remembrance of
our deep depravity. It is in vain,
therefore, for any man to attempt to
justify himself before God. After
the most labored argument to prove
his own innocence; after all the con-
fidence which he can repose in his
own morality and his own righteous-
ness, still God can with infinite ease
overwhelm him with the conscious-
ness of guilt. How many men that
were once relying on their own mo-
rality for their salvation, have been
bowed down with a consciousness of
guilt in a revival of religion ! How
many who have been trusting to
their own righteousness have been
overwhelmed with deep and awful
conviction, when they have been
brought to lie on a bed of death !
Let no man, therefore, rely on his
own righteousness, when God accuses

am, that I should answer him,
and we should come together in
judgment.

33 Neither is there ^

2 one that should aro-ue.

any

him with being a sinner. Let no one
trust to his own morality for salva-
tion— for soon it will all be seen to
be insufficient, and the soul must ap-
pear covered over with the conscious-
ness of guilt at the awful bar of God.
IT Jlnd mine own clothes shall ahUor
me. Marg. Make me to he abhorred.
That is, they shall be filthy and ofixMi-
sive — like one who has been rolled
in the mire. God has power to make
me seem defiled and loathsome, not-
withstanding all my efforts to cleanse
myself.

32. For he is not a man as 1 am.
He is infinitely superior to me in
majesty and power. The idea is,
that the contest would be unequal,
and that he might as well surrender
without bringing the matter to an
issue. It is evident that the disposi-
tion of Job to yield, was rather be-
cause he saw that God was superior
in power than because he saw that he
was right., and that he felt that if h«
had ability to manage the cause as
well as God could, the matter would
not be so niuch against him as it was
then. Tiiat there was no little im-
propriety of feeling in this, no one*
can doubt ; but have ice never had
feelings like this when we have been
afflicted ^ Have we never submitted
to God because we felt that he was
Almighty, and that it was vain to
contend with him, rather than be-
cause he was seen to be right? True
submission is always accompanied
with the belief that God is right —
whether we can see him to be riglit
or not. IT And ice should come to-
gether in judgment. For trial, to have
tJie case adjudicated. That is, that
we should meet face to face, and have
the cause tried before a superior
judge. jXoyes.

33. JYcither is there any daysman.
Marg, One that should argue^ or, um

156

' daysrnan
might lay

betwixt "
his hand

us, that
upon us

JOB.

34 Let him

away from me

both.

1 or, umpire.

Pfl. 106. 23.

■pire. The word daysman \n Ev\g-
fish means " an umpire or arbiter, a
iator." Webster. Why such a
illed a daysman I do not

tiiedi
man

IS cai

know. TJic Hebrew word rendered
daysman {TT'"^) is from T^T,, not
used in Kal, to be before, in front of;
and then to appear, to be clear, or
manifest ; and in Hiphil, to cause to
be manifest, to argue, prove, convince;
and then to argue down, to confute,
reprove. See the word used in ch.
vi. 25 : " What doth your arguing
reprove .^" It then means to make a
cause clear, to judge, determine,
decide, as an arbiter, umpire, judge,
Isa. xi. 3. Gen. xxxi. 37. Jerome
renders it, " Non est qui utrumque
valeat arguere." The LXX, " if there
were, or, O that there were a media-
tor (o /<?oYr//?), and a reprover {y.al
i}.f'yXo)t'), and one to hear us both " ^xal
diay.nvoji' avaiiiaor aiKpoxfQwp). The
word as used by Job does not mean
mediator, but arbiter^ umpire, or
jud<re; one before whom the cause
miglit be tried, who could lay the
hand of restraint on either party, who
could confine the pleadings within
proper bounds, wlio could preserve
the parties within the limits of order
and propriety, and who had power to
determine the question at issue. Job
complains that there could be no
such tribunal. He feels that God was
so great that the cause could be
referred to no other, and that he had
no prospect of success in the unequal
contest. It does not appear, there-
fore, that he desired a mediator, in
the sense in which we understand that
word — one who shall come between
us and God, and manage our cause
before him, and be our advocate at his
bar. He rather says that there was
no one above (iod, or no umpire unin-
terested in the controversy, before
whom the cause could be argued, and
who would be rompctent to decide

take * his rod
and let not his
fear terrify me ;

h Fs. 39. 10.

the matter in issue between him and
his Maker. He had no hope, there-
fore, in a cause where one of the
parties was to be the judge, and where
that party was omnipotent ; and he
must give up the cause in despair. It
is not with strict propriety that this
language is ever applied to the Lord
Jesus, the great Mediator between
God and man. He is not an umpire
to settle a dispute, in the sense in
which Job understood it ; he is not
an arbiter, to whom the cause in dis-
pute between man and his Maker is
to be referred; he is not a judge to
listen to the arguments of the respec-
tive parties, and to decide the con-
troversy. He is a mediator between
us and God, to make it proper or
possible that God should be reconciled
to the guilty, and to propose to man
the terms of reconciliation ; to plead
our cause before God, and to commu-
nicate to us the favors which he
proposes to bestow on man. H That
might lay his hand npon vs both. It
is not improbable that this may refer
to some ancient ceremony in courts
where, for some cause, the umpire or
arbiter laid his hand on both the par-
ties. Or, it may mean merely that
the umpire had the power of control
over both the parties ; that it was his
office to restrain them within proper
limits, to check any improper expres-
sions, and to see that the argument
was fairly conducted on both sides.
The meaning of the whole here is,
that if there were such an umpire.
Job would be willing to argue the
cause. As it was, it was a hopeless
thing, and he could do nothing more
than to be silent. That there was
irreverence in this language must^be
admitted ; but it is language taken
from courts of law, and the substance
of it is, that Job could not hope to
maintain his cause befoie one so
great and powerful as God.

34. Let him tiikc his rod away

CHAPTER IX.

157

35 Then would I speak, and

1 lam not so with myself.

from me. Let him suspend my suf-
ferings, and let us come together on
equal terms. His terror now is upon
me, and I can do nothing. I am
oppressed, and broken down, and
crushed under his hand, and I could
not hope to maintain my cause with
any degree of success. If my suffer-
ings were lightened, and I could
approach the question with the vigor
of health and the power of reasoning
unweakened by calamity, 1 could
then do justice to the views which I
entertain. Now there would be ob-
vious disparity, while one of the par-
ties has crushed and enervated the
other by the mere exercise of power.
35. Then would I sjjeak, and not
fear him. I should then be able to
maintain mj^ cause on equal terms,
and with equal advantages. U But
it is not so icith me. Marg. / am riot
so icith myself. Noyes, " T am not
so at heart." Good, " but not thus
could I in my present state." Lite-
rally, ' for not thus I with myself
The Syriac renders it, " for neither
am I his adversary." Very various
interpretations have been given of
this phrase. The Jews, with Aben
Ezra, suppose it means, ' for I am
not such as you suppose me to be.
You take me to be a guilty man ; but
I am innocent, and if I had a fair
opportunity for trial, I could show
that I am.' Others suppose it to
mean, ' I am held to be guilty by the
Most High, and am treated accord-
ingly. But I am not so. I am con-
scious to myself that I am innocent.'
It seems to me that Dr. Good has
conio nearer the true sense than

not fear him : but ' it is not so
with me.

any other interpreter, and certainly
his exposition accords with the con
nection. According to this the mean-
ing is, ' I am not able thus to vindicate
myself in my present circumstances.
I am oppressed and crushed benerfth
a load of calamities. But if these
were removed, and if I had a fair
opportunity of trial, then I could so
state my cause as to make it appear
10 be just.' In this whole chapter,
ihere is evidently much insubmission
and improper feeling. Job submits
to power, not to truth and right. He
sees and admits that God is ahle to
overwhelm him, but he does not
seem disposed to admit that he is
right in doing it. He supposes that
if he had a fair and full opportunity
of trial, he could make his cause
good, and that it would be seen that
he did not deserve his heavy calami-
ties. There is much of this kind of
submission to God even among good
people. It is submission because
they cannot help it, not because they
see the divine dealings to be right.
There is nothing cheerful or confid-
ing about it. There is often a secret
feeling in the heart that the suffer-
ings are beyond the deserts, and that
if the case could be fairly tried, the
dealings of God would be found to be
harsh and severe. Let us not blame
Job for his impatience and irreverent
language, until we have carefully
examined our own hearts in the times
of trial like those which he endured.
Let us not infer that he was worse
than other men, until we are placed
in similar circumstances, and are able
to manifest better feelings than he did.

13

]5S

JOB.

CHAPTER X.

MY soul is ' weary of my life ;
I will leave my complaint
111)011 myself; I will speak in the
bitterness of my soul.

2 I will say unto God, Do
not " condemn me ; show me

1 or. att offichilc J live, a Ps. 143. 2. Ro. 8. 1.
b La 5. 16, 17. 2 labour.

1. Mij soul is weary of viy lij'i.
Coinp. Notes on ch. vii. 16. The
margin here is, Or, cut off while I
lire. Tlie meaning in the margin is
in accordance with the interpretation
of Schultens. The Chaldee also
renders it in a similar way : ^"U*P^
"^-'S: — my soul is cut off. But the
more correct interpretation is that in
our common version ; and the sense
is, that his soul, i. e. that he himself
was disgusted with life. It was a
weary burden, and he w-ishcd to die.
IT 1 will leave my complaint -upon my-
self. Noyes, " I will give niy.-^clf up
to complaint." Dr. Good, "I will
let loose from myself my dark
thoughts." The literal sense is, 'I
will leave complaint upon myself;'
that is, I will give way to it; I will
not restrain it. Comp. ch. vii. 11.
TI I icill speak in the bitterness of my
soul. See Notes, ch. vii. 11.

2. / tcill say unto God., Do not con-
demn me. Do not hold me to be
wicked — "^S^^^lli^ri PX . The sense is,
'Do not simply hold me to be wick-
ed, and treat me as such, without
showing me the reasons why I am so
regarded.' Thin was the ground of
Job'.s complaint, that God by mere
sovcriiignty and jjower held him to
be a wicked man, and that he did not
Bee tlie reasons why he was so con-
sidered and treated, lie now desired
to know in what ho had oflended,
and to be made actpiainti'd with the
cause of his sufhriiigs. The idea is,
that it was unjust to treat one as
guilty who Jiad no opportunity of
knowing the nature of the offence

wherefore ^ thou contendest with

me.

3 Is it good unto thee that
thou shouldest oppress, that thou
shouldest despise the '^work oi
thine hands, and shine upon the
counsel of the wicked ?

with which he was charged, or the
reason why he was condemned.

3. Is it good unto thee that thou
shouldest oppress. The sense of this
is, that it could not be with God a
matter of personal gratification to in-
flict pain wantonly. There must be
a reason why he did it. This was
clear to Job, and he was anxious,
therefore, to know the reason why he
was treated in this manner. Yet
there is evidently here not a little of
the spirit of complaining. There is
an insinuation that God was afflicting
him beyond what he deserved. See
ver. 7. The state of his mind appears
have been this : he is conscious to
himself that he is a sincere friend of
God, and he is unwilling to believe
that God can wantonly inflict pain —
and yet he has no other way of ac-
counting for it. He is in a sort driv-
en to this painful conclusion — and he
asks with deep feeling, whether it can
be so .'' Is there no other solution
than this ^ Is there no way of ex-
plaining the fact that he suffers so
much, than either the supposition
that he is a hypocrite — which he feels
assured he is not ; or that God took
a wanton pleasure in inflicting pain
— which he was as little disposed
to believe, if he could avoid it ^ Yet
his mind rather verges to this latter
belief, for he seems more disposed to
believe that God was severe than
that he himself was a hypocrite and
a wicked man. Neither of these
conclusions was necessary. If he
had taken a middle ground, and had
adverted to the fact that God might

""ict his own children for their good^

u.

CHAPTER X.

159

4 Hast thou eyes of flesh ? or
* seest thou as man seeth ?

5 A?^e thy days as the days of
man ? are thy years as man's
days,

6 That ^ thou inquirest after

1 1 Sa. IG. 7, b Jno. 2. 24. 25. c Ps. 10. 15.

tii.o mystery would have been solved.
He could have retained the conscious-
uess of his integrity, and at the same
time his confidence in God. H T/iat
thou siiouldcst despise the work of thine
hands. Marg. labor. That is, despise
man, or treat him as if he were of no
value. The idea is, that it would be
natural for God to love his own work,
and tliat his treatment of Job seemed
as if he regarded his own workman-
ship— man — as of no value. M And
shine upon the counsel of the laickcd.
By giving them health and prosper-

4. Hast thou eyes oj^ flesh ? Eyes like
man. Dost thou look upon man with
the same disposition to discern faults ;
the same uncharitableness and incli-
nation to construe every thing in the
severest manner possible, which cha-
racterizes man .^ Possibly Job may
have reference here to the harsh
judgment of his friends, and means to
ask whether it could be possible for
G(nl to evince the same feelings in
judging of him which they had done.

5. Are thy days as the days of man ?
Does thy life pass on like that of
man.'' Dost thou expect soon to die,
that thou dost pursue me in this man-
ner, searching out my sins, and af-
flicting me as if there were no time
to lose ? The idea is, that God
seemed to press this matter as if he
wnre soon to cease to exist, and as if
there were no time to spare in accom-
plisliing it. His strokes were unin-
termitted, as if it were necessary
that the work should be done soon,
and aa if no respite could be given
^ov a full and fair development of the
real character of the sufferer. The
whole passage (ver. 4-7) expresses
the settled conviction of Job that
God could not resemble man. Man

mine iniquity, and searchest "
after my sin 1

7 ' Thou knowest "^ that I am
not wicked ; and there is none
that can deliver out of thine
hand.

1 It is upon thy knojoledge. d Jno. 21. 17.

was short-lived, fickle, blind ; he was
incapable, from the brevity of his
existence, and from his imperfections,
of judging correctly of the character
of others. But it could not be so
with God. He was eternal. He
knew the heart. He saw every thing
as it was. Why, then. Job asks v/ith
deep feeling, did he deal v\ith him
as if he were influenced by the me-
thods ofjudgment which were insepa-
rable from the condition of imperfect
and dying man .''

6. That thou inquirest after mine
iniquity. Art thou governed by hu-
man passions and prejudices, that
thou dost thus seem to search out
every little obliquity and error .-'
Job here evidently refers to the con-
duct of man in strictly marking faults,
and in being unwilling to forgive;
and he asks whether it is possible
that God could be governed by such
feelings as these.

7. Thou knov)est that I am not
wicked. That is, that I am not a
hypocrite, or an impenitent sinner.
Job did not claim perfection (see
Notes on ch. ix. 20), but he maintain-
ed through all this argument that he
was not a \vicked man, in the sense
in which his friends regarded him as
such, and for the truth of this he could
boldly appeal to God. The margin
is, ' It is upon thy knoidcdge.' This
is a literal translation of the Hebrew,
but the sense is well expressed in
the text. The meaning of the verse
is, ' Why dost thou thus afflict mc,
when thou knowest that I am not
wicked ? Why am I treated as if I
were the worst of men ? Why is
occasion thus furnished for my friends
to construct an argument as if I were
a man of singular depravity ?' IT
There is none that can dclirc out of

160

JOB.

8 Thine hands Miave made
me, and fashioned me together

1 took pains about me.

thine hand. I have no power lo release
myself. Job felt that God had al-
lu'ijrhty power ; and he seems to have
fvh that his suftcrings were rather
the simple exertion of power, than
the exercise of justice. It was this
tiiat laid the foundation for his com-
plaint.

8. Thine hands have made me. Job
proceeds now to state that he had
been made by God, and that he had
shown great skill and pains in his
formation. He argues that it would
seem like caprice to take such pains,
and to exercise such amazing wisdom
and care in forming him, and then, on
a sudden, and without cause, dash
hi.«^ own work to pieces. Who makes
a beautiful vase only to be destroyed ?
Who moulds a statue from marble
only to break it to pieces.? Who
builds a splendid edifice only to pull
it down ? Who plants a rare and
precious flower only to have the
pleasure of plucking it up ? The state-
ment in ver. 8-12, is not only beauti-
ful and forcible as an argument, but
is peculiarly interesting and valuable,
as it may be presumed to embody the
views in the patriarchal age about
the formation and the laws of the
iiuman frame. No inconsiderable
j)art of the value of the book of Job,
as was remarked in the Introduction,
arises from the incidental notices of
the sciences a.s they prevailed at the
time when it was composed. If it is
the oldest book in the world, it is an
invaluable record on these points.
The expression, " thine hands have
made me," is in the margin, ' took
jtuins about vie.' Dr. Good renders
it, " have wrought me ;" Noyes,
" completely fashioned me ;" Roscn-
mnller explains it to mean, "have
formed me with the highest diligence
and care." Schultens renders it,
Manus tiitc nervis colligarunt — "thy
liands have bound me with nerves
or sitiewH;" and ajjpcals to the use
of the Arabic ui» autJiority for this

round about;
stroy me.

yet thou dost de-

interpretation.

Defectibus hodiernis Ling. Hebr. pp.

He maintains (De

_ PP-

142, 144, 151), that the Arabic word

"J^^^ atzaha, denotes 'the body
united and bound in a beautiful
form by nerves and tendons ;' and
that the idea here is, that God had so
constructed the human frame. The
Hebrew word here used (-^^') means
properly to work, form, fashion. The
primary idea, .according to Gesenius,
is, that of cutting, both wood and
stone, and hence t^o cut or carve with
a view to the forming of an image.
The verb also has the idea of labor,
pain, travail, grief; perhaps from the
labor of cutting or carving a stone or
a block of wood. Hence it means, in
Piel, to form or fashion, with the idea
of labor or toil ; and the sense here is
undoubtedly, that God had elaborated
the bodies of men with care and skill,
like that bestowed on a carved image
or statue. The margin expresses the
idea not badly — took pains about me.
'^ And fashioned me. Made me. The
Hebrew here means simply to make.
1[ Together round about. ^S'^^O '^r^^
Vulg. totum in circuitu. Sept. sim-
ply, " made me." Dr. Good, "moulded
me compact on all sides." The word
^'n'2 rendered "together," has the
notion of oneness, or union. It may
refer to the oneness of the man — the
making of one from the apparently
discordant m.aterials, and the compact
form in which tsJie body, though com-
posed of bones, and sinews, and
blood-vessels, is constructed. A
similar idea is expressed by Lucre-
tius, as quoted by Schultens. Lib.
iii. 358 :

Qui coetu, conjugioque

Corporis atqiie anima; consistimus uniter apt!

TI Yet thon dost destroy me. Notwith-
standing I am thus made, yet thou
art taking down my frame, as if it
were of no consequence, and formed
with no care.

CHAPTER X.

161

9 Remember, I beseech thee,
that thou hast made me as the
clay ; " and wilt thou bring me
into dust again 1

10 Hast thou not poured me

a Je. 18. 6. llo. 9. 21. b Ps. 139. 13. 1 hedged.

9. Remember, I beseech thee, that
thou hast made me as the claij. Tliere
is evident allusion here to the creation
of man, and to the fact that he was
moulded from the dust of the earth
— a fiict which would he preserved
hy tradition. See Genii. 7. The fact
that God had moulded the human form
as the potter moulds the clay, is one
tiiat is oflen referred to in the Scrip-
tures. Comp. Rom ix. 20,21. The ob-
ject of Job in this is, probably, to re-
call the fact that God, out of clay, had
formed the noble structure, vian, and
to ask whether it was his intention to
reduce tliat structure again to its
former worthless condition — to de-
stroy its beauty, and to efface the
remembrance of his workmanship ?
Was it becoming God thus to blot out
every memorial of his own power and
skill in moulding the human frame .''

10. Hast thou not poured me out as
milk? The whole image in this
verse and the following, is designed
to -furnish an illustration of the origin
and growth of the human frame.
The Note of Dr. Good may be tran-
scribed, as furnishing an illustratiou
of what may have possibly been the
meaning of Job. "The whole of
the simile is highly correct and
beautiful, and has not been neglected
by the best poets of Greece and
Rome. From the well-tempered or
mingled milk of the chyle, every in-
dividual atom of every individual
organ in the human frame, the most
compact and consolidated, as well as
the soft and pliable, is perpetually
supplied and renewed, through the
medium of a system of lacteals or
viilk-vessels, astliey are usually called
in anatomy, from the nature of this
common chyle or milk which they
circulate. Into the delicate stomach
of the infant it is introduced in the

out as milk, and curdled me like
cheese ?

11 Thou * hast clothed me
with skin and flesh, and hast
' fenced me with bones and sin-
ews.

f jrm of milk ; but T?ven in the adult
it must be reduced to some such
form, whatever be the substance he
feed upon, by the conjoint action of
the stomach and other chylifactive
organs, before it can become the basis
of animal nutriment. It then circu-
lates through the system, and either
continues fluid as milk in its simple
state, or is rendered solid as milk is
in its caseus or cheese-state, accord-
ing to the nature of the organ which
it supplies with its vital current."
True as this is, however, as a matter
of physiology, now well understood,
a doubt may arise whether Job was
acquainted with the method thus de-
scribed, in which man is sustained.
The idea of Job is, that God was the
author of the human frame, and that
that frame was so formed as to evince
his wonderful and incomprehensible
wisdom. A consultation of the works
on physiology, which explain the
facts about the formation and the
growth of the human body, will shov/
that there are few things which more
strikingly evince the wisdom of God
than the formation of the human
frame, alike at its origin, and in every
stage of its development. It is a sub-
ject, however, which cannot, with
propriety, be pursued in a work of
this kind.

11. Thou hast clothed me with skin
and flesh. This refers, undoubtedly,
to the formation of man in his foetal
existence, and is designed to denote
that the whole organization of the
human frame, was to be traced to
God. Grotius remarks that this is
the order in w^hich the infant is
formed — that the skin appears first,
then the flesh, then the harder parts
of the fra^e. On this subject, the
reader may consult Dunglison's Phy-
siology, vol. ii. p. 340, seq. TI Jndhnsi

16-2

JOB.

12 Thou hast granted me life
and favor, and thy visitation hath
preserved my spirit.

13 And these things hast thou

fenced me. Marg. Hedged. Literally,
Ilast covered inc. The sense is plain.
God had formed him as he was, and
to him lie owed his life, and all that
he had. Job asks with the deepest
interest whether God would take
down a frame formed in this manner,
and reduce it again to dust ? Would
it not be more for his honor to pre-
serve it still — at least to the common
limit of human life ?

12. Thy visitation hath preserved
my spirit. Thy constant care ; thy
watchful providence ; thy superin-
tendence. The word rendered
visitation (iTni^E) means properly
the mustering of an army, the care
that is manifested in looking after
those who are enlisted ; and then de-
notes care, vigilance, providence, cus-
tody, watch. The idea is, that God
had watched over him and preserved
him, and that to his constant vigilance
he owed the preservation of his life.

13. Jind these things hast thou hid
in thine heart. This may either refer
to tlie arrangements by which God
had made him, or to the calamities
wJiich he had brought upon him.
Most expositors suppose that the latter
is intended. Such is the opinion of
RosenmUller, Good, Noyes, and
Scott. According to this the idea is,
that God had purposed in his heart to
bring these calamities upon him.
They were a part of his counsel and
design. To hide in the heart, or to
lay up in the heart, is a phrase ex-
pressive of a secret purpose. I see
no reason to confine it, however, to
the calamities which Job had expe-
rienced. It may refer to all the plans
and df)ings of the JMost High, to
which Job had just referred. Mlh'is
acts in the creation and preservation
of man, were a part of his secret
counsel. He had formed the plan in
his heart, and was now executing it
in the various dispensations of his

hid in thine heart : I know that
this is with thee.

14 If I sin, then thou markest
me, and thou wilt not acquit me

providence. IT / know that this is
with thee. That all this is a part of
tliy purpose. It has rts origin in
thee, and is according to thy counsel.
This is the language of piety, recog-
nizing the great truth that all things
are in accordance with the purposes of
God, or that his plans embrace al!
events — a doctrine which Job most
assuredly held.

^ 14. If I sin. The object of this
verse and the following is, evidently,
to say that he was wholly perplexed.
He did not know how to act. He
could not understand tJie reason of
the divine dealings, and he was
wholly unable to explain them, and
hence he did not know how to act in
a proper manner. It is expressive of
a state of mind where the individual
tvishes to think and feel right, but
where he finds so much to perplex
him, that he docs not know what to
do. Job w^as sure that his friends
were not right in the position which
they maintained — that he was a sin-
ner of enormous character, and that
his sufi^erings were proof of this, and
yet he did not know how to answer
their arguments. He desired to have
confidence in God, and yet he knew
not how to reconcile his dealings
with his sense of right. He felt thai
he was a friend of God, and he did
not know why he should visit one
who had this consciousness in this
distressing and painful manner. His
mind was perplexed, vacillating, em-
barrassed, and he did not know what
to do or say. The truth in this whole
argument was, that he was more
often rightthan hisfricnds. but that he,
in common with them, had embraced
some principles which he was com-
pelled to admit to be true, or which
he could not demonstrate to be false,
which gave them greatly the advan-
tage in the argument, and which they
pressed upon him now with over-

CHAPTER X.

163

from mine iniquity.

'15 If I be wicked, woe " unto
me ; and if I be righteous, yet
will I not lift up my head. I am

a Is. 6.5.

whelming force. IT Then thou mark-
est me. Dost carefully observe every
fault. JVhy he did tiiis, Job could not
see. The same difficuhy he express-
ed in eh. vii. 17-19. See the Notes
on that place. IT And wilt not acquit
wfi. Wilt not pardon me. Job did
not understand why God would not
do this. It was exceedingly perplex-
ing to him that God held him to be
guilty, and would not pardon him if
he had sinned. The same perplexity
he expressed in ch. vii. 21. See
Notes on that verse.

15. If I he icicked^ woe unto me.
The meaning of this in this con-
nection is, '1 am full of perplexity
and sorrow. Whether I am wicked
or righteous, I find no comfort.
Whatever is my character, my efforts
to be happy are unavailing, and my
mind is full of anguish. Wo follows
if I have been guilty of sin ; and if I
am not a sinful man, I am equally
incapable of enjoyment. In every
way I am doomed to wretchedness.'
1] And \^ I Ic righteous, yet will I not
lift up my head. That is, with con-
fidence and cheerfulness. The mean-
ing is, that though he was conscious
that he was not a hypocrite, yet he
did not know v^^hat to do. God
treated him as if he were wicked,
and his friends regarded him as such,
and he was overwhelmed with the
perplexities of his situation. He
could not lift up his head with confi-
dence, though he was certain that he
was not a sinner in the sense in
which they charged him with being
such ; and yet since he was treated by
God in a manner so similar to the
mode in which the wicked are treat-
ed, ho felt ashamed and confounded.
Who has not felt the same thing ?
Who has not experienced a sense of
shame and mortification at being
sick, — a proof of guilt, and an

full of confusion ; therefore see
thou mine affliction ;

16 For it increaseth. Thou
huntest me as a fierce lion ; '' and

b La. 3. 10. IIos. 13. 7, 8.

expression of the hatred of God
against sin ? Who has not felt hum-
bled that he must die, as the most
vile of the race must die, and that
his body must become the " prev of
corruption" and "the banquet of
worms," as a demonstration of guilt.?
Such humiliation Job experienced.
He was treated as if he were the
vilest of sinners. He endured from
God sufferings such as they endure.
He was so regarded by his friends.
He felt humbled and mortified that
he was brought into this situation,
and was ashamed that he could not
meet the arguments of his friends.
H I am full of confusion. Shame,
ignominy, distress, and perplexity.
On every side there was embarrass
ment, and he knew not what to do.
His friends regarded him as vile, and
he could not but admit that he was so
treated by God. TI Therefore, see thou
mine affliction. The word rendered
here "5€e" ('^'v?*') in the impera-
tive, RosenmUiler, Gesenius, and
others suppose should be regarded as
in the infinitive absolute, the finite
verb being undi^stood ; ' seeing I
see my afiliction, that is, I certainly
see it. So the Chaldee and the Syriac
render it, and this agrees better with
the connection of the passage. ' I see
the depth of my affliction. I cannot
hide it from myself. I see, and must
admit, that God treats me as if I were
a sinner, and I am greatly perplexed
and embarrassed by that fact. My
mind is in confusion, and I know not
what to say.'

15. For it increaseth. Our transla-
tors understand this as meaning that
the calamities of Job, so far from
becoming less, were constantly in-
creasing, and thus augmenting his
perplexity and embarrassment. But
a somewhat diflerent explanation ia

164

JOB.

again thcu shewest thyself mar-
vellous upon me.

17 Thou renewest thy^ ' wit-

1 that 19, planriies.

riven to it by many interpreters.
The word rendered "increascth"
(nxa) means properly to lift up, to
lif\\Ip one's self, to rise ; and Gese-
niiis supposes that it refers here to the
head, and that the meaning is, ' if it
lift up itself (so. my head), thou hunt-
cst me as a lion.' It cannot be denied
that the notion of pride, elation,
haughtir ""ss, is usually connected
with the use of the word, but it is
not necessary here to depart from the
common interpretation, meaning that
the increase of his affliction greatly
augmented his perplexity. Jerome,
however, renders it, " and on account
of pride, thou dost seize me as a li-
oness." The idea is, ' my affliction,
as it were, exalts itself, or, becomes
more and more prominent.' This is
a better interpretation than to refer
it to the raising up of his head.
IT Thou hunttst vie as a fierce lion.
On the meaning of the word here
rendered " fierce lion " (^HT!^, shd-
/j/ta/), see Notes on ch. iv. 10. The
sense here is, that God hunted or fol-
lowed him as a fien e lion pursued
his prey. H ^'Ind again thou showest
thyself marvellous. Or rather, ' thou
turnest, and art wonderful towards
me.' The meaninjj is, that he did
not at once spring upon his prey and
then leave it, but he came back as if
it had not been put to death when first
seized, as if a lion should come back
and torture his victim again. The
meaning of the phrase, "showest
thyself marvellous " is, that the deal-
ings of God towards him were won-
derful. They were wholly incom-
prehensible. He had no means of
finding out the reasons of liis doings.
On the word here used, comp. Notes
on Isa. ix. 6.

17. Thou renewest thy xoitnesscs
against me. Marg. " that is, plagues.'^
The Hebrew is, thy witnesses — ^'^'1?.
So the Vulgate. The LXX is, " fe-

nesses against me. and increasest
thine indignation upon me ;
changes and war are against me.

newing against mc my examination,"
Tr]v traafv [(ov. Rabbi Levi supposes
that the plague of the leprosy is
intended. But the true meaning
seems to be, that God sent upon him
calamities which were regarded by
his friends as proofs or tcitnesses that
he was v/icked, the public and sol-
emn attestation of God, as they sup-
posed, to the truth that he was emi-
nently a bad man. New proofs of
this kind were constantly occurring
in his augmenting and protracted sor-
rows, and he could not answer the
arguments which were brought from
them by his friends. IT Changes and
2oar are against me. Or rather, are
with me, "^^55 . There were with him
such reverses of condition as laid the
foundation for the argument which
they had urged v/ith so much perti-
nacity and force that he was punished
by God. The word rendered changes
(^niB'^pnj means properly changes,
or exchanges, and is applied to gar-
ments, 2 Kings v. 5. xxii. 23. Ic may
be used also of soldiers keeping
watch until they are relieved by a
succeeding guard. See Note on ch.
xiv. 14. Here it is not improbably
employed in the sense o^ a. succession
of attacks made on him. One suc-
ceeds another, as if platoon after pla-
toon, to use the modern terms, oi
phalanx after phalanx, should come
up against him. As soon as one had
discharged its arrows, another suc-
ceeded in its place ; or as soon as one
became exhausted, it was followed
by a fresh recruit. All this Job could
not endure. The succession wearied
him and he could not bear it. Dr.
Good supposes that the word refers
to the skirmishes by which a battle is
usually introduced, in which two
armies attempt to gall each other be-
fore they are engaged. But the true
idea, as it seems to me, is, that afflic-
tions succeeded each other as soldiers

CHAPTER X.

165

18 Wherefore then hast thou
brought me forth out of the
womb ? Oh '^ that I had given
up the ghost, and no eye had
seen me !

19 I should have been as

a c. 3. 11.

b Ps. 39. 5. 13.

on a watch, or in a battle, relieve
each other. When one set is ex-
hausted on duty, it is succeeded by
another. Or, when in battle one
company has discharged its weapons,
or is exhausted, it is succeeded by
those who are brought fresh into the
field. The word rendered "war"
(xn^j) properly means an army or a
host. See Note ch. vii. 1. Here it
means that a whole host had rushed
upon him. Not only had he been
galled by the successioti, the relief-
guard of calamities, the attacks
which had followed each other from
an advanced guard, or from scouts
sent out to skirmish, but the zchole
army was upon him. A whole host
of calamities came rushing upon him
alone, and he could not endure them.

18. Wherefore then hast thou
brought me forth. See Notes on ch.
iii. 11.

19. I should hare been carried from
the icomh to the grave. See Notes on
ch. iii. 16.

20. Are not my days fete ? My
life is short, and hastens to a close.
Let not then my afflictions be con-
tinued to the last moment of life, but
let thine hand be removed, that I may
enjoy some rest before I go hence to
return no more. This is an address
to God, and the meaning is, that as
life was necessarily 50 short, he asked
to be permitted to enjoy soine comfort
before he should go to the land of
darkness and of death. Comp. Note
on ch. vii. 21. A somewhat similar
expression occurs in Ps. xxxix. 13 :

0 spare me, that I may recover strength,
Before I go hence, and be no more.

21. Before I go whence I shall not
return. To the grave, to the land of
ahades, to

though I had not been , I should
have been carried from the womb
to the grave.

20 Are not my days few 1 *
cease then, and let me alone,
that I may take comfort a little,

21 Before I go whence I shall

"That undiscovered country, from whose

bourne
No traveller returns."

TT To the land of darkness. Thi.s
passage is important as furnishing an
illustration of what was early under-
stood about the regions of the dead.
The essential idea here is, that it was
a land o? darkness, of total and abso-
lute night. This idea Job presents
in a great variety of forms and
phrases. He amplifies it, and uses
apparently all the epithets which he
can command to represent the utter
and entire darkness of the place
The place referred to is not the grave,
but the region beyond, the abode of
departed spirits, the Hades of the
ancients ; and the idea here is, that it
is a place where not a clear ray of
light ever shines. That this was a
common opinion of the ancients in
regard to the world of departed
spirits, is well known. Virgil thus
speaks of those gloomy regions :

Dii, quibus imperium estanimarum,umbrseque
silentes ; [lati,

Et Cliaos, et Phlegethon, loca nocte silentia
Sitmihi fas audita loqui ; sit numine vestro
Paudere res alia teira et caligine mersas.
Ibant obscuri sola sub nocte per umbram,
Porque domos Ditis vacuas, et inania regna.
Q.uale per incerta Lunam sub luce maligna^
Est iter In sylvis ; ubi caelum condidit umbra
Jupiter, et rebus nox abstulit atia colorera.
^n. vi. 259, seq.

A similar view of Hades was held
by the Greeks. Thus Theognis, 1007 :

'^j fjciKup cvSaifiCJi' T£ Kal o\j3ioij oans

aiTEipoi
"AflXwz/, CIS nSov ^cj^rt it£\av Karifirj.

There is nowhere to be found, how-
ever, a description which for intensity
and emphasis of expression surpasses
this of Job. H Shadow of death. See
this phrase explained in the Note on
ch. iii. 5.

166

JOB.

not return, even to the land " of
darkness and the '' shadow of
death ;

22 A land of darkness, as

a Ts. 88. 1\

22. Ji land of darkness. The word
here used ("^^25.') is different from
that rendered darkness ("^.H) in the
previous verse. That is the common
word to denote darkness ; this seldom
occurs. It is derived from fi^^J, to
fly ; and th en to cover as with wings ;
and hence the noun means that which
is shaded or dark. Amos iv. 13.
Comp. Job xi. 17. Isa. viii. 22, ix. 1.
II jJs darkness itself. This is still
another word ('S^*) though in our
common version but one term is
used. We have not the means in
our language of marking different
degrees of obscurity with the accura-
cy with which the Hebrews did it.
The word here used (^si<) denotes a
thick darkness — such as exists when
the sun is set — from ^^^, to go down,
to set. It is poetic, and is used to
denote intense and deep darkness.
See ch. iii. 6. IT And of the shadoic
of death. I would prefer reading
this as connected with the previous
word — ' the deep darkness of the sha-
dow of death.' The Hebrew will
bear this, and indeed it is the obvious
construction. 1[ Without any order.
The word rendered order (D'^'l'lG)
is in the plural. It is from ^"^O, obso-
lete, to place in a row or order, to
arrange. The meaning is, that every
thing was mingled together as in cha-
os, and all was confusion. Milton
has used similar language :

— " a vn.s\. immeasurable abyss."
— •' dark, wasteful, wild."

darkness itself; and of the sha-
dow of death, without any order,
and tohere the light is as dark
ness,

6 Ps. 23. 4.

Ovid uses similar language in speak-
ing of chaos : " Unus chaos, rudis
indigestaque moles." IT Jlnd where
the light is as darkness. This is ^
very striking and graphic expression.
It means that there is no pure and
clear light. Even all the light that
shines there is dark, sombre, gloomy
— like the little light of a total eclipse,
which seems to be darkness itself,
and which only serves to render the
darkness more distressing. Compare
Milton :

" A dungeon horrible on all sides round,
As one great furnace flamed, yet fi-om those

flames
JVo light j but rather darkness visible
Served only to discover sights of woe."
Par. Lost, I.

The Hebrew here literally is, ' And
it shines forth (i'SPil) as darkness ;'
i. e. the very shining of the light
there, if there is any, is like dark-
ness ! Such was the view of Job of
the abodes of the dead — even of the
pious dead. I^Io wonder he shrank
back from it, and wished to live.
Such is the prospect of the grave to
man, till Christianity comes and re-
veals a brighter world beyond the
grave — a world that is all light. That
darkness is now scattered. A clear
light shines even around the grave,
and beyond there is a world where
all is light, and where " there is no
night," and where all is one bright
eternal day. Rev. xxi. 23, xxii. 5,
O had Job been favored with these
views of heaven, he would not have
thus feared to die !

CHAPTER XI

167

CHAPTER XI.

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER.

This chapter contains the first speech of Zophar. In regard to th's person, see Note on ch. ij.
1 1. It is generally agreed that he has less ability, gentleness, and refinement than either of the
other speakers. The Editor of the Pictorial Bible snys, " Zophar seems inferior even toBildad
in discernment, temper, and chaiitable consideration." Jahn says, ' His first address is char-
acterized by rusticity, his second adds but little to the first, and in the third dialogue he has no
reply to make." Hales says, "He, without any reserve, taxes Job openly with loquacity,
arrogance, and iniquity, and as justly punished for his sins ; and exhorts him to repentance as
the only means of recovering his prosperity." Analy. vol. ii. p 70. Rosenmiiller characterizes
him as ceteris immodestior et inhumanior. I do not see the evidence, however, unless it be in
the commencement of his discourse, that he is more rude and severe than Eliphaz or Biidad.
Like them, he takes it for granted that Job had sinned, and assures iiim that if he would return
to God, he should have prosperity and happiness again. This is the current strain of all their
speeches ; and in this they all agree. All are severe in their remarks, and it may be admitted
that Zophat is much less argumentative than Eliphaz, and that his speeches are in fact little
more than a repetition of what his friends had before said.

The speech in this chapter properly comprises three parts.

I. He accuses Job of garrulity, of arrogance, and of impiety, in maintaining his own innocence
in the circumstances in which he then was. The frroiind of this was that Job maintained his
innocence, and held that he was pure in the sight of God, vs. 1-4.

II. He says that he wishes that God would speak to Job and acquaint him with his estimate
of what he was. He aflSrms that God exacted of him less than his iniquity deserved ; and then
goes into a sublime description of God, as vast, and as unfathomable in his counsels and plans.
He declares not only that God is ffreat, but that ho knows the heart of man, and knows exactly
what he deserves, I\Ian, he says, however, would arraign the divine counsels and plans, though
he was born like a wild ass's colt. Zophar does not attempt to explain the equity of the divino
dealings, but he dwells on the greatness and the sovereignty of God, and on the duty of man to
submit with humility, vs. 5-12.

III. He assures Job that if he w^ould repent and turn to God, he should be prospered again He
would forget his misery ; his age would be clear as noonday ; he would lie down in safety, and
would again become an honored and respected man. If he persevered in his wickedness, how-
ever, he must expect to be destroyed, for that was the lot of all the wicked, vs. 13-20.

It cannot be denied that there was much that was unkind in this speech, and much that Job
would feel keenly. To assume that a man is wicked ; that he is a hypocrite and abandoned by
God, and then to exhort him as if it were so, and as if it did not admit a moment's debate or
excite a doubt in the mind of the speaker, is a mode of address that will find its way to the
heart of any man Job felt it, as who would not .' Yet this was the error of a'J the friends of
Job, and in a particular manner that of Zophar. To sit and hear this vv-as one of the severe trials
of that much afflicted patriarch, and if he answered occasionally with severity and sarcasm wo
must remember what human nature is, and think of the severity of the provocation before wo
severely censure him.

T^HEN answered Zophar the
-^ Naamathite, and said,
2 Should not the multitude of

2. Should not the multitude of words
be ansioered ? As if all that Job had
said had been mere words ; or as if
he was remarkable for mere garrulity.
H And should a man full of talk he
justified? Marg. as in Heb. of lips.
The phrase is evidently a Hebraism,
to denote a great talker — a man of
mere lips, or empty sound. Zophar
asks whether such a man could be
justified or vindicated. It will be
recollected that taciturnity was with

words be ° answered 1 and should
a man ^ full of talk be justified 1

a Pr. 10, 19. 1 of lips

the Orientals a much greater virtue
than with us, and that it was regard-
ed as one of the proofs of wisdom.
The wise man with them was he who
sat down at the feet of age, and de-
sired to learn ; who carefully col-
lected the maxims of former times ;
who diligently observed the course of
events; and who deliberated with
care on what others had to say. Thus
Solomon says, " In the multitude ot
words there wanteth not sin : but he

168

JOB.

3 Sliould thy ' lies make men
hold their peace ? and when thou
mockest, shall no man make
tliee ashamed ?

that refraineth his lips is wise."
Prov. X. 19. So James (i. 19), "let
cver)^ man be swift to hear, slow to
speak." It was supposed that a man
who said much would say some fool-
ish or improper things, and hence it
was regarded as a proof of prudence
to bo distinguished for silence. In
Oriental countries, and it may be
added also, in all countries that we
regard as uncivilized, it is unusual
and disrespectful to be hasty in offer-
ing counsel, to be forward to speak,
or to be confident and bold in opinion.
See Notes on ch. xxxii. 6, 7. It was
for reasons such as these that Zophar
maintained that a man who was full
of talk could not bo justified in it ; that
there was presumptive proof that he
was not a safe man, or a man who
could be vindicated in all that he said.
3. Should thy lies. Marg. devices.
RosenmUller renders this, " should
men bear thy boastings with si-
lence .''" Dr. Good, " before thee
would mankind keep silence .?" Vulg.
tibi soli tacehunt homines ? " Shall
men be silent before thee alone V
The LXX render the whole passage,
" he who speaketh much should also
hear in turn ; else the fine speaker
{ivlaXaq) thinketh himself just. —
Blessed be the short-lived offspring
of woman. Be not profuse of words,
for there is no one that judges against
thoe, and do not say that I am pure
in works and blameless before him."
How this was made out of the He-
brow, or what is its exact sense, I am
tjnable to say. There can be no
doubt, I think, that our present
translation is altogether too harsh,
and that Zophar by no means de-
signs to charge Job with uttering
livs. The Hebrew "word commonly
used for /ie5, is wholly difterent from
tliat which is used here. The word
here ("^S) denotes properly separa-
tion; then a ■part; and in various

4 For " thou hast said, My
doctrine is pure, and I am clean
in thine eyes.

1 or, devices.

a c. 6. 30. 10. 7.

combinations as a preposition, alone.,
separate., besides. Then the noun
means empty talk, vain boasting; and
then it may denote lies or falsehood.
The leading idea is that o? separation
or of remoteness from any thing., as
from prudence, wisdom, propriety, or
truth. It is a general term, like our
word bad., which I presume has been
derived from this Hebrew word ^'^

— badh., or from the Arabic Jo? ^f'^^-
In the plural (D'^'nS) it ig rendered
liars in Isa. xliv. 25. Jer. 1. 36; lies
in Job xi. 3. Isa. xvi. 6. Jer. xlviii.
30; and prtrt^in Job xli. 12. It is also
often rendered staves., Ex. xxvii. 6,
XXV. 14, 15, 28, et sap. al. That it
may mean " lies " here I admit, but it
may also mean talk that is aside from
propriety, and may refer here to a
kind of discourse that was destitute
of propriety, empty, vain talk. IT
w5?trf ichen thou mockest. That is,
' slialt thou be permitted to use the
language of reproach and of com
plaint, and no one attempt to make
thee sensible of its impropriety .''' The
complaints and arguments of Job he
represented as in fact m.ocking God.
*[[ Shall no man make thee ashamed ?
Shall no one show thee the improprie-
ty of it, and bring thy mind to a sense
of shame for what it has done ? Thi.<»
was what Zophar now proposed to do.
4. My doctrine is pure. The LXX
instead of the word doctrine here
read deeds., I'oyoiq ; the Syriac, " thou
sayest I have acted justly.' IJut the
word here used C^l^^) means properly
fair speech., or taking argumeiits,
that by which one is taken or capti-
vated, from njl^b, to take. Then it
means doctrine, or instruction, Prov.
i. 5, ix. 9. Here it means the views
which Job had expressed. Dr. Good
supposes that it means conduct^ a
word which would suit the connec-

CHAPTER XI.

169

5 But oh that God would
speak, and open his lips against
thee ;

6 And that he would show
thee the secrets of wisdom, that

ticn, but the Hebrew is not used in
this sense. 1[ And I am clean in thine
eyes. In the eyes of God, or in his
sight. This was a false charge. Job
had never maintained that he was per-
fect (comp. Notes on ch.ix. 20); he
had only maintained that he was not
such a sinner as his friends maintained
that he was, a hypocrite, and a man
eminent for guilt. His want of
absolute perfection he was ever ready
to admit and mourn over.

5. But oh., that God laould speak.
Heb. " and truly, who will give that
God should speak." It is the expres-
sion of an earnest wish that God
would address him, and bring him to
a proper sense of his ill-desert. The
meaning is, that if God should speak
to him he would by no means find him-
self so holy as he now claimed to be.

6. And that he icould show thee
the secrets of icisdom. The hidden
things that pertain to wisdom. The re-
ference here is to the wisdom of God
himself. The sense is this, ' you now
think yourself pure and holy. You
have confidence in your own wisdom
and integrity. But this apprehension
is based on a short-sighted view of
God, and on ignorance of him. If
he would speak and show you his
wisdom ; if he would express his
sense of what purity is, you would at
once see how far you have come
from perfection, and would be over-
whelmed with a sense of your com-
parative vileness and sin.' H That
they are double to that ivhich is!
Noyes renders this, " his wisdom
which is unsearchable." Dr. Good,
strangely enough, "for they are in-
tricacies to iniquity." The expres-
sion, as it stands in our common ver-
sion, is not very intelligible; and in-
deed it is difficult to attach any idea
to it. Of the words used in the
Hebrew, the sense is not difficult.

tJicT/ are double to that which is !
Know, therefore, that God exact-
eth of thee less " than thine ini-
quity cleserveth.

a Ezr.9. 13.

The word fc'?V£3, double, is from
5ES to fold., to double ; and means a
doubling (Job xli. 5) ; and then two
folds, or double foldi?!, and tlie sense
here is, that the wisdom of God is
double f old ; that is, complicated, in-
explicable, or manifold. It is not
spread out and plain, but is infold-
ed, so that it requires to be unrolled
to be understood. The word render-
ed ' that which is' (M^TlJ^Jn), means
properly a setting upright, upright-
ness— from '^'^'^. Hence it means
help, deliverance. Job vi. 13; pur-
pose, undertaking, Notes on Job
v. 12; and then counsel, wisdom,
understanding. Job xii. 16. Isa. xxviii.
29. It means here, I suppose, under-
standing ; and the idea is, that the
wisdom of God is ' double of under-
standing;' that is, it is so infolded, so
complex, that it greatly surpasses our
comprehension. What we see is a
small part of it; and the ' secrets' ot
his wisdom — the parts of his wisdom
which are not unfolded, are far above
our grasp. His wisdom is like avast
roll or volume, only the first and a
very small part of which is unrc^lled
so that we can read it. But who can
look into that that remains unopen-
ed, and penetrate between the invo-
lutions, so as to perceive and read it
all .'' It is but little that is now un-
rolled of the mighty volume — the
remainder will be unfolded as years
and ages shall pass on, and the entire
unfolding of the book will be re-
served for eternity. IT Knoio, there-
fore, that God exacteth of thee less
than thine iniquity deserveth. The
word here rendered 'exacteth' (nilj|^)
more properly means to forget — from
ri^J5. It also means to loan on usury.
or to borrow ; but the sense here is
rather that of forgetting. It is not

170

JOB.

7 Canst thou by searching "
find out God ? canst thou find
out tlie Almighty unto perfec-
tion ?

used in the sense of exacting. The
true meaning is, ' know, therefore,
th;it for ihee God hatli caused to be
forgotten a part of thy iniquity.'
That is, ho has treated you as if he
had caused a part of your sins to be
out of mind, or as if they were not
remembered Instead of treating
you, as you complain, with severity,
he has bv no means infiicted on you
the calaniities which you deserve.
Tlie ground of this unfeeling asser-
tion is the abstract proposition that
God is infinitely wiser than men;
that he has a deeper insight into
liuman guilt than men can have ; and
that if he sliould disclose to us all
that he sees of the heart, we should
be amazed at the revelations of our
own sins. This sentiment is undoubt-
edly true, and accords almost exactly
with what Job had himself said
(ch. X. 19-22), but there is some-
thing very harsh and severe in the
manner in which Zophar applies it.

7. Canst thou, by searching, find
out God? In order to illustrate the
sentiment which he had just express-
ed, that the secrets of divine wisdom
must bo far above our comprehen-
sion, Zoj)har introduces here this
.sublime description of God — a de-
scription which seems to have the
form and force of a proverb. It
seems to have been a settled opinion
that man could not find out the Al-
mighty to perfection by his own
powers — a sentiment, which is as
true now, as it was then, and which
is of the utmost importance in all our
inquiries about the Creator. The
sentiment i.s expressed in a most
l)(.autiful manner; and the language
it.>;( If ilk not unworthy of the theme.
The word "searching," ^i^H^ is from
"pn to search, to search out, to exa-
mine ; and the primary sense, accord-
ing to Gesenius, lies in searching in

8 It is * as high as heaven ;
what canst thou do ? deeper than
hell ; what canst thou know ?

a Is. 40. 28. Ro. 1 1 . 33. 1 the heights of heaven.

the earth by boring or digging — as
for metals. Then it means to search
with diligence and care. Here it
means that by the utmost attention in
examining the works of God, it
would be impossible for man to find
out the Almighty to perfection, AH
the investigations which have been
made of God, have fallen short of
the object; and at the present time it
is as true as it was in the days of Job,
that we cannot, by searching, find him
out. Of much that pertains to him
and his plans we must be content to
remain in ignorance, until we are ad-
mitted to the revelations of a higher
world — happy and thankful now that
we are permitted to know so much of
him as we do, and that we are ap-
prized of the existence of one infi-
nite AND PERFECT MIND. It is an

inexpressible privilege to know any
thing of God ; and it is proof of the
exalted nature of man, that he is now
capable of becoming in any degree ac-
quainted with the divine nature.

8. It is as high as heaven. That
is, the knowledge of God ; or the
subject is as high as heaven. The
idea is, that man is incompetent to
examine, with accuracy, an object
that is as far off as the heavens; and
that as the knowledge of God rrntst
be of that character, it is vain for
him to attempt to investigate it fully.
There is an energy in the Hebrew
which is lost in our common transla-
tion. The Hebrew is abrupt and
very emphatic : " The heights of the
heavens I" It is the language of one
looking up with astonishment at the
high heavens, and overpowered with
the thought that the knowledge
of God must be higher even than
those distant skies. Who can hope
to understand it.^ Who can be qua-
lified to make the investigation ? It
is a matter of simple but sublime
truth, that God must be higher than

CHAPTER XI. 171

9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and

these heavens; and when we take
into view the amazing distances of
many of the heavenly bodies, as now
known by the aid of modern astro-
nomy, we may ask with deeper em-
piiasis by far than Zophar did, ' Can
we, by searching, find out God ?'
IT ^Deeper than hell. Heb. " Than
Sheol' — bixirT:. The LXX render
this, " the heaven is high, what
canst thou do ? And there are things
deeper than in Hades — (iaO-vrfua tcov
iv adnv — what dost thou know ?"' On
the meaning of the word Sheol^ see
Notes on Isa. clis. v. 14, xiv. 9. It
seems to have been supposed to be as
deep as the heavens are high ; and
tlie idea here is, that it would be im-
possible ibr man to investigate a sub-
ject that was as profound as Sheol
was deep. The idea is not that God
was in Sheol, but that the subject
was as profound as the abode of de-
parted spirits was deep and remote.
It is possible that the Psalmist may
have had this passage in his eye in
the similar expression, occurring
in the CXXXlXth Psalm :
If I ascend into heaven, thou art there ;
If I make my bed in hell, behold thou art tliere.

9. The incisure thereof is lunger
than the earth. The measure of the
knowledge of God. The extent of
the earth would be one of the longest
measures known to the ancients. Yet
it is now impossible to ascertain
what ideas were attached, in the time
of Job, to the extent of the earth —
and it is not necessary to know tliis
in order to understand this expression.
It is morally certain that the prevail-
ing ideas were very limited, and that
a small part of the earth was then
known. The general belief seems
to have been, that it was a vast plain,
surrounded by water — but how sup-
ported, and what were its limits,
were evidently matters to them un-
known. The earliest knowledge
which we have of geography, as un-
derstood by the Arabs, represents the
earth as wholly encompassed by an

ocean, like a zone. This was usually
characterized as a " Sea of Dark-
ness ;" an appellation usually given
to the Atlantic ; while to the North-
ern Sea was given the name of " The
Sea of Pitchy Darkness." Edrisi
imagined the land to be floating in
the sea, and only part appearing
above, like an egg in a basin of water.
if these views prevailed so late as
tile tenth and eleventh centuries of
the (Christian era, it is reasonable to
conclude that the views of the figure
and size of the earth must have been
extremely limited in the time of Job,
On the ancient views of geography,
see Notes on oh. xxvi. 7-10, and the
maps there, also Murray's Ency-
clojjasdia of Geography, Book I., and
Esciienberg's Manual of Classical
Literature, by Prof. Fiske, Part I.
IF And broader than the sea. What
was the idea of the breadth of tho
sea, which was supposed to surround
the earth, it is now wholly im-
possible to determine. Probably
there were no ideas on the subject
that could be regarded as settled and
definite. The ancients had no means
of ascertaining this, and they perhaps
supposed that the ocean extended to
an unlimited extent — or, perhaps, to
the far-distant place where the sky
and the water appeared to meet. At
all events it was an illustration then,
as it is now, of a vast distance, and is
not inappropriately used here to de-
note the impossibility of fully under-
standing God. This illustration would
be far more striking then than now.
We have crossed the ocean ; and we
do not deem it an impracticable thing
to explore the remotest seas. But
not so the ancients. They kept
close to the shore. They seldom
ventured out of sight of land. The
enterprise of exploring and crossing
the vast ocean, which they supposed
encompassed the globe, was regarded
by them as ichoLly impracticable —
and equally so they correctly sup-
posed it was to find out God.

172

,JOB.

prosecution. The word
off" — n'^ri^ , from

broader than the sea.

10 If " he ' cut off, and shut
up, or gather together, then who
can -liinder him ?

10. If he cut off. ]Marg. Make a
chansrc. But ueitJicr of these phrases j
jiroperly expresses the sense of the j
oriizinnl. The whole image here is
prohably that of arresting a criminal
and bringing him to trial, and the lan-
guage is taken from the mode of con- |
ducting a
rendered "cut
?^n — means properly to pass along ;
to pass on ; then to pass against any
one, to rush on, to assail ; and in a
remote sense in Piel and Hiphil, to
cause to pass on or away, that is, to
change. This is thasense expressed
in the margin. The idea is not that
of cutting off, but is that of making
a rush upon a man, for the purpose of
arresting him and bringing him to
trial. Tliere are frequent references
to such trials in the book of Job. The
Chaldeo renders this, " if he pass on
and shut up tlie heavens with clouds"
— but the paraphrast evidently did
not understand the passage. TI ^nd
shut up. That is, imprison or detain
with a view to trial. Some such de-
tention is always practised of neces-
sity before trial. H Or gather toge-
ther. Gather together tlie parlies for
trial ; or rather call the individual
into court for trial. The word --•^I^,
means properly to call together, to
convoke, as a people ; and is used to
denote the custom of assembling the
people for a trial — or, as we would say,
to ' call the court,' which is now the
office of a crier. M Then icho can
hinder him? Marg. Who can turn
him away? He has all power, and
no one can resist him. No one
can deliver the criminal from his
hands. Zophar here is in fact re-
peating in another form what Job Iiad
himself said (ch. i.x. 3. scq.), and the
sentiment seems to be proverbial.
The idea here is, that il" God should
call a man into judgment, and hold

11 For ' he knoweth vain
men : he seeth wickedness also :
will he not then consider it ?

1 or, make a change. 2 turn

a Re. 3. 7.

him away.

h Vs. 10.] 4.

him guilty, he could neither answer
nor resist him. God is so great ; he
so intimately knows the human
heart; he has so thorough an ac-
quaintance with all our past sins, that
we cannot hope to answer him or
escape. Zophar argues on this prin-
ciple : ' God holds you to be guilty.
He is punishing you accordingly.
You do not feel it so, or suppose that
you deserve all this. But he sees
your heart, and knows all your life.
If he holds you to be guilty, it is so.
You cannot answer him, and you
should so regard it, and submit.'

11. For he knoiceth vain men. He
is intimately acquainted with the
heart ; he knows men altogether
The word vain here (^^1'^'), means
properly vanity, emptiness, false-
hood, a lie, iniquity. " Men of
vanity," here may mean men whose
opinions are valueless, or it may
mean men of deceit, falsehood, hy-
pocrisy. Most probably it means the
latter, and the indirect reference may
be to such men as Job. The sense
is, that God is intimately acquainted
with such men. They cannot de-
ceive him, and their wickedness will
be found out. M Will he not then
consider it ? Various ways have
been proposed of explaining this.
By sonie it is supposed to mean, ' He
seeth iniquity, where they do not ob-
serve it ;' that is, he perceives it,
where men do not themselves. This
would ex])ress a thought which would
accord well with the connection, but
it is doubtful whether the Hebrew
will bear this construction. By ano-
ther explanation it is supposed to
mean, as in our common version,
" Will not God observe it, and bring
it to trial ? Will he suffer it to pass
unnoticed .''" This makes good sense,
and the Hebrew will admit of this
interpretation. But there is another

CHAPTER XI.

17S

12 For ' vain man would he

1 empty.

view still, which is preferable to
either. According to this it means,
that God perceives the iniquity in
man, though he docs not sccvi to
notice it. See Notes on vcr. 6. He
appears to pass over a part of it, but
he sees it notwithstanding, and is in-
timately acquaint(Hl witli all the de-
pravity of the heart. The main re-
ference here is to Job, and the object
is to show him that he was guilty,
though he had asserted liis innocence
in so decided a manner. Though he
seemed to himself to be innocent,
yet Zoph-ar labors to show him that
he must be guilty, and that he had
seen but a small part of his sins.

12. For rain man. IMarg. ewpty.
3^!2D, according to Gesenius, from the
root -"5) to bore through, and then to
be hollov/ ; metaphorical, C77>pt.y, fool-
ish. The LXX, strangely enough,
render this, "but man lioats about
with words." The Hebrew here
means, manifestl}^, hollow, empty;
then insincere and hypocritical. Zo-
phar refers to a hollow-hearted man,
who, though he was in fact like a
wild ass's colt, attempted to appear
mild and gentle, and to have a heart.
The meaning is, that man by nature
has a spirit untamed and unsubdued,
and that vufh this, he assumes the
appearance of gentleness and tender-
ness, and attempts to appear as if he
was worthy of love and affection.
God, seeing this hollow-heartedness,
treats him accordingly. The refer-
ence here is to men like Job, and
Zophar undoubtedly meant to say
that he was hollow-hearted and insin-
cere, and yet that he wished to appear
to be a man having a heart., or, hav-
ing true piety. IT Would he wise.
Various interpretations have been
given to this expression. The most
simple and obvious seems to be the
true one, though I have not seen it
noticed by any of the commentators.
The word rendered "would be wise "
(35^'?) is from S^^, or 3^, meaning

wise, though man be born like a
wild ass's colt.

heart., and the sense here, as it seems
to me, is, ' vain, hollow, and insin-
cere, man would xcish to seem to have
a heart;' that is, would desire to
appear sincere, or pious. Destitute
of that truly, and false and hollow,
he would nevertheless wish to appear
different, and would put on the aspect
of sincerity and religion. This is the
most simple exposition, and this ac-
cords with the drift of the passage
exactly, and expresses a sentiment
which is unquestionably true. Gese-
nius, however, and some others ren-
der it, " hut man is holloio and want-
eth understanding ; yea., vian is horn
like a zcild ass's colt, signifying the
weakness and dulness of the human
understanding in comparison with
the divine wisdom." Others render
it, " but the foolish man becometh
wise when the wild ass's colt shall
become a man," i. e. never., a most
forced and unnatural construction.
Dr. Good renders it :

Will he then accept the hollow-hearted person ?
Or shall the -wild ass-colt assume tlie man ?
Schultens and Dathe translate it :
Let then vain man be wise,
And the wild ass's colt become a man.

Tf Though man he horn. Though
man by nature, or in connection with
his birth, is untamed, lawless, rebel-
lious. The wild ass is a striking
image of that which is untamed and
unsubdued. Conjp. Notes on ch.
xxxix. 5. Thus Jeremiah describes
it, " a wild ass used to the wilderness,
that snuffeth up the wind at her
pleasure," Jer. ii. 24. Thus it is
said of Ishmael (Gen. xvi. 12), "and
he will be a wild man," D'ltJ i<'lB
— a loild ass of a man. So Job
xxxix. 5 :

Who hath sent out the wild ass free ;

Or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?

It is not quite easy for us to under-
stand these allusions, for with us the
ass is the proverbial image of stupid-
ity, dulness, obstinacy, and immo-
bility. But it was not so with the

174

JOB.

13 If thou prepare « thine
heart, and stretch out thine
hands toward him ;

a 1 Sa. 7. 3. b Ps. 101. 3.

ancients. It is mentioned as distin-
guished for velocity, for vvildness,
and for an unsubdued spirit. Thus
Oppian, as qupted by Bochart, Hie-
roz. Lib. i. c. ix. p. 63, says :

rarov dcTv.

Swift, rapid, xcith strong hoofs, and
most fleet in his course. And Aris-
totle mentions wild asses as rtjr xaxv-
Tf/ra (yiacpFonrrfq, Hist. Lib. vi. 6 c.
3(j. So .^lian says of them, or/.iaroi
fl'j(Xfifiv, fleet in their course. And
Xenophon says of them, TToP.i; roiJ Yrr-
Ttnv Oaxrnv'fTofxnv, they run much j
swifter than a horse. In describing \
the march of the younger Cyrus
through Syria, he says, " The wild
ass, being swifter of foot than our
horses, would, in gaining ground upon
tiiem, stand still and look around ;
and when their pursuers got nearly
up to them, they would start off, and j
repeat the same trick; so that there '
remained to the hunters no other
method of taking them but by divid-
ing themselves into dispersed parties j
which succeeded each other in the !
chase." Comp. Bochart, Hieroz. P. j
[, Lib. iii. c. xvi. pp. 867-879. A !
similar statement is made by ^lian i
([.lib. xiv. cap. 10, as quoted by Bo- I
chart), " The wild asses of Mauru-
sius ( o'j'ot Mavaovoini) are most
fleet in their course, and at ti)e com-
mencement of their course they seem
to be borne along by the winds, or as
on the wings of a iiird." "In Per-
sia," says the Editor of the Pictorial
Bible, "the wild ass is prized above
all other animals as an object of
cha.^e, not only from its fleetness, but '
the delicacy of its flesh, which made I
it an article of luxury even at the ,
royal tables." " They are now most I
al)undantly foun 1 in the deserts of j
Tartary, and of the countries between I
the Tigris and the Indus, more par- j

14 If iniquity 6c in thine hand,
put it far away, and let not wick-
edness dwell in * thy taberna-
cles.

ticularly in the central parts of the
regions thus defined. Wo know that
they were also anciently found in the
regions of Mesopotamia, Asia Minor,
Syria, and Arabia Deserta ; but from
these regions they seem to have been,
in the course of ages, almost entirely
expelled or extirpated." Pict. Bib. on
Job xxxix. 5. The idea in the pas-
sage before us is, that man at his
birth has a strong resemblance to a
wild and untamed animal ; and the
passage undoubtedly indicates the
early belief of the native proneness
of man to wander away from God,
and of his possessing by nature an
msubmissive spirit.

13. If thou prepare thine heart. Zo
phar now proceeds to state that if
Job even yet would return to God,
he might hope for acceptance. Though
he had sinned, and though he Avas
now, as he supposed, a hollow-hearted
and an insincere man, yet, if he
would repent, he might expect the
divine favor. In this he accords with
the sentiment of Eliphaz, and he con-
cludes his speech in a manner not a
little resembling his. See ch. v. 17-
27. M And stretch out thine hands
toioard him. In the attitude of sup-
plication. To stretch out, or spread
forth the hands, is a phrase often
used to denote the act of supplication.
See 1 Tim. ii. 9, and the Notes of
Wetstein on that place. Horace, 3
Carm. xxiii. 1, Ccelo supinas si tule-
ris manus. Ovid, M. ix. 701, Ad si-
dera supplex Cressa manus tollens.
Trist. i. 10, 21, Ipse gubernator, tol-
lens ad sidera palmas. Comp. Livy
V. 21. Seneca, Ep. 41. Ps. ciii. 22,
cxxxiv. 2, cxli. 2. Ezra ix. 47.

14. If iniquity he in thine hand. If
you have in your possession any
thing that has been unjustly obtained.
If you have oppressed the poor and
the fatherless, and have what properly
belpngs to them, let it be restored.

CHAPTER XL

175

15 For then shalt thou lift up
thy face without spot ; yea, thou
shalt be steadfast, and shalt not
fear :

16 Because thou shalt forget

1 arise ab'we the noon-day. a Pr. 4. 18. Is.

58. 8. 10.

This is the obvious duty of one who
comes to God to implore his favor.
Comp. Luke xix. 8.

15. For then shalt thou lift up thy
face without spot. That is, thy face
shall be bright, clear, and cheerful.
Thus we speak of a bright and happy
countenance. Zophar undoubtedly
designs to show what his appearance
would be, contrasted with what it
then was. Now iiis countenance vvas
dejected and sad. It was disfigured
by tears, and terror, and long con-
tinued anguish. But if he v/ould put
away iniquity, and return to God, his
face would be cheerful again, and he
would be a happy man. !i Yea, thou
shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear.
The word rendered " steadfast "
(p^TD^ is from P^'J, to pour, to pour
out, and is applied to liquids, or to
metals which are fused and poured
into a mould, and which then become
hard. Hence it is used in the sense
of firm, solid, intrepid. Gesenius.
Schultcns supposes that the reference
here is to metallic mirrors, made by-
casting, and then polished, and tliat
the idea is, that his face would shine
like such a mirror. But it may be
doubted whether this interpretation
is not too refined. The other and
more common explanation well suits
the sense, and should probably be
retained.

16. And reviemher it as icaters that
pass atcaxj. As calamity that has
completely gone by, or that has rolled
on and will return no more. The
comparison is beautiful. The water
of the river is borne by us, and re-
turns no more. The rough, the swol-
len, the turbid stream, we remember
as it foamed and dashed along, threat-
ening to sweep every thing away ;
but it went swiftly by, and will never

thy misery, and remember it as
waters that pass away :

17 And thine age shall ' be
clearer than the noon-day ; thou
shalt shine " forth, thou shalt be
as the morning.

comeback. So with afflictions. They
are soon gone. The most intense
pain soon subsides. The days of sor-
row pass quickly away. There is an
outer limit of suffering, and even
ingenuity cannot prolong it far. The
man disgraced, and whose life is a
burden, will soon die. On the cheeks
of the solitary prisoner doomed to the
dungeon for life, a " mortal paleness "
will soon settle down, and the com-
forts of approaching death will soothe
the anguish of his sad heart. The
rack of torture cheats itself of its
own purpose, and the exhausted suf-
ferer is released. " The excess [of
grief] makes it soon mortal." " No
sorrow but killed itself much sooner."
i Shakspcare. When we look back
upon our sorrows, it is like thinking
of the stream that was so much swol-
len, and was so impetuous. Its wa-
ters rolled on, and they come not back
again ; and there is a kind of pleasure
in thinking of that time of danger, of
that flood that was then so fearful,
and that has now swept on to come
back no more. So there is a kind of
peaceful joy in thinking of the days
of sorrow that are now fled forever ;
in the assurance that those sad times
will never, never recur again.

17. Jlnd thine as^e. Thy life. This
does not mean old age, but tlic idea
is, that his life would be cheerful and
happy. IF Clearer than the. noon-day.
Marg. Arise above the nooji-day. The
margin is a literal rendering; but the
sense is clear in the text. The idea
is, that the remainder of his life
would be bright as the sun if he
would return to God. H Thou shalt
shine forth. Or rather, ' thou art
now in darkness, but thou shalt be
as the morning.' The word here
used — "^S^^rj is from t]^^)^ to cover

176

JOB.

18 And thou shall be secure,
because there is hope ; yea, thou
shall dig about thee, and thou
shall take tliy rest in safety.

19 Also thou shall lie down,
and none shall make thcc afraid ;

1 iiilreat thy face. a De. 28. 65.

— ;is with wings, to fly, to cover with
darkness. In no instance does it
mean to shine, or to be clear and
bright ; and why our translators at-
tached that idea to it, it is now diffi-
cult to conjecture. The Chaldce and
Syriac read the word as a noun, and
render tlie passage, ' and thy dark-
vpss shall be as the aurora.' The
Vulgate renders it, " and meridian
splendor, as it were, shall arise upon
thee at the evening." The LXX,
"and thy prayer shall be like the
morning star, and life shall rise upon
thee from noon-day." The sense in
llic Hebrew is phiin. He was then
in darkness. Clouds and calamities
were round about him, but if he
wouUl return to God, he would be
permitted to enjoy a bright day of
prosperity. Such a day would return
to him like the morning after a long
and gloomy night.

18. And thou shall he secure. You
will feel confident that your pros-
perity will be permanent, and you
will be free from the distressing
anxieties and fears which you now
have. IT Thou shall dig about thee.
The Chaldee renders this, " thou
sluilt prepare for thyself a sepulchre,
and slialt lie down in safety." The
word here used (^SH) Jias two signi-
fications. It means, (1) to dig — as,
e. g. a well, and under this significa-
tion to search out, to explore; and,
{2) to be ashamed, to blush, Jsa. i.
2i). According to Gesenius, the lat-
ter here is the signification. " Now
ihou art ashamed, then thou shall
dwell in quiet." Lex. So Noyes ren-
ders it. Dr. Good translates it, "yen,
thou shall look around ;" Rosen-
mUller, "thou art sufiused with
•hame." This is, probably, the true

yea, many 'shall make suit unto
thee.

20 But the eyes " of the wick-
ed shall fail, and '''they shall not
escape, and their ^ hope shall he
as Hhe giving up of the ghost.

2 Jlight shall perish from them. b Pr. 11. 7.

3 or, a jniff of breath.

sense; and the idea is, that tliough
he was now covered with shame, yet
he would lie down in peace and
safety if he would return to the
Lord. ,

19. Many shall make suit unto thee.
Many shall come in a suppliant man-
ner to ask counsel and advice. The
meaning is, that he would be a m.an
of distinction, to whom many would
look for counsel. This was evidently
an honor highly valued in the East,
and one on which Job had formerly
prided liimself. See ch. xxix. 7-13.

20. But tlie eyes of the tcicked shall
fail. That is, they shall be wearied
out by anxiously looking for reliei
from their miseries. Koyes. Their
expectation shall be vain, and they
shall find no relief PerhapsZo^hnr
here means to apply this to Job, end
to say to him that with his present
views and character, his hope f:>f relief
would fail. His only hope of relict
was in a change — in turning to God
— since it was a settled maxim that
the wicked would look for relief in
vain. This assumption that he was
a wicked man, must have been
among the most trying things that
Job had to endure. Indeed nothing
could be more provoking than to have
otliers take it for granted as a matter
that did not admit of argument, that
he was a hypocrite, and that God
was dealing with him as an incorrigi-
ble sinner. II And they shall not
escape. Marg. Flight shall perish

from them. The margin is a literal
translation of the Hebrew. The sense
is, escape for the wicked is out of the
question. They must be arrested
and punished. II And their hops
shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
Litcrallv, 'the breathing out of the

CHAPTER XII.

177

life or soul.' Their hope shall leave
them as the breath or life does the
body. It is like death. Tlie expres-
sion does not mean tiiat their hope
would always expire at death, but
that it would certainly expire as life
leaves the body. The meaning is,
that whatever hope a wicked man
has of future happiness and salvation,
must fail. The time must come
when it will cease to comfort and
support him. The hope of the pious
man lives until it is lost in fruition in
heaven. It attends him in health ;
supports him in sickness ; is with
him at home ; accompanies him
abroad ; cheers him in solitude ; is
his companion in society ; is with
him as he goes down into the shades
of adversity, and it brightens as he
travels along the valley of the shadow

of death. It stands as a bright star
over his grave — and is lost only in
the gloriesof heaven, as the morning
star is lost in the superior briglitness
of the rising sun. Not so the hypo-
crite and the sinner. His hope dies
— and he leaves the world in des-
pair. Sooner or later the last ray of
his delusive hopes shall take its de-
parture from the soul, and leave it to
darkness. No matter iiow briglit it
may have been ; no matter how long
he has cherislied it ; no matter on
what it is founded — whether on his
morals, his prayers, his accomplish-
ments, his learning ; if it be not based
on true conversion, and the promised
mercy of God through a Redeemer,
it must soon cease to shine, and will
leave the soul to the gloom of black
despair.

CHAPTER XII.

ANALYSIS OF CHAPTERS XTI. XIII. AND XIV.

Th£se three chapters, which comprise the reply of Job to the speech of Zophar, and in general
to what had been advanced by his friends, embrace the following points : —

I. Ele commences the reply with a severe sarcasm — tlie first in which he had indulged — on the
superiority which they assumed. They were ' the ■people.^ ha said, and wisdom would die with
tliom, ch xi'. 2.

II. He affirms that bo understood the points on which they had insisted as well as they ; that
they had advanced nothing that was new to him, or which he had not often reflected on;' that
by urging these plain maxims and common-place topics, thoy had done him an unkindness by
undervaluing his understanding, and complains that they had added to his sorrows by inflicting
on him these truisms, and compelling him toiiear sentiments with which he was so familiar, but
which they supposed were profound and novel discoveries, cli. xii. 3-5.

III. He tlien re-affirms his main position (ver. C), maintaining that the worst of men, so far
from receiving the punishment which was their duo, were in fact prospered ; and then proceeds
to shov.' them what he knew of God. They had spoken of his wisdom and power, as if he were
ignoiant on the subject. He proceeds, therefore, to discourse of the Most High in a manner
calculated to make them ashamed of their comparatively obscure and nanow views, and to sliow
that he had reflected on that point much more than they had, ch. xii. 7-25. xiii. 1,2. This part of the
discourse may be regarded somewhat as a trial of skill ; or an attempt to show that he could speak
of God in strains as sublime as tliey could, and that the maxims which he had treasured up were
qiiito as well calculated to exalt God as theirs were. He speaks of the universal sovereignty
ofOod; says tliat the knowledge of him is to be learned from tlie beasts, the earth, and the whole
course of events ; admits that his agency is seen every where, but maintains that his dispensa-
tions are not in exact accordance with the character of man, and that men are not treated
acco-iding to their deserts in this life.

IV. He expresses his earnest desire to transfer his cause to the tribunal of the Almighty.
This he wishes because ho believes that God would he just, and because his friends were mani-
festly so severe in their judgments, ch. xiii. 3-13. In the course of this part of tho argument,
ho accuses them of injustice and unkindness, and concludes it by desiring that they woald hold
their peace. Their arguments, he said, were such as to dishonor God, and to expose tliom to
the divine displeasure, and ho counsels fliem if they would l)e wise to be sile it.

178

JOB.

V. In ch. xiii. 14-28, he makes lils appeal, in the most solemn manner, to God. He urges the
most earnest protestations of his innocence, and affirms that ii is his intention to trust in God,
tlio'i^'h he should slay him; but in connexion with this, he remonstrates in the most pathetic
manner witli God for afflicting him as he was doing.

VI. The argument of Job is closed in chapter xiv. by a description of the shortness of human
Ii e, of exquisite beauty. This is a part of his address to God, and is the expression of the
deep feelings of his soul. It is full of mingled emotions of fear, and hope, and despondency,
exhibiting doubts respecting the future state, with occasionally a slight hope of it, until his
mind sinks into utter despondency, and he wishes that he were in the giave. This beautiful
chapter contains the following parts, viz. : —

(I.) An affirmation that man is born to trouble, and must soon be cut down, vs. 1, 2.

(t?.) Since such must be the lot of man. Job asks why God should afflict him ? Why not suffer
him to enjoy his few days here in peace, and let him pass through his brief existence without
annoyance .' vs. 3-6.

(3. ) He then adverts with the deepest feeling to the fact that a man when he is dead will not
bo suffered to live again on the earth, vs. 7-12. A tree when it is cut down will spring up again,
and if it were so with man, he might well bear to be afflicted. But he was cut down, and never
again while the heavens endured would he be allowed to revisit the earth.

(4.) He then expresses the earnest wish that God would hide him in the grave, until his
wrath should be overpast; and that then if He would call him forth, he would answer him, and
would vindicate himself. Now, while thus suffering under the expressions of the divine dis-
pleasure, he was unequal to it. God watched him, and as waters wash away stones, and even
the mountain is wasted away, so man ?)iust waste away under long-continued trials. With this
language of mingled complaint, remonstrance, despondency, and doubt, Job closes the first series
of the controversy. He is evidently in deep perplexity. He knows not what to do, or what to
think ; but on the whole his language is that of one who felt that God and man were alike against
him, and that he had no comforter.

A ND Job answered and said,
"^ 2 No doubt but ye are the
people, and wisdom shall die
with you.

1 an heart. 2 fall not lower than you.

2. JVo doubt but ye are the people.
That is, tile only wise people. You
liave engrossed all the wisdom of the
world, and all else are to be regarded
as fools. This is evidently the lan-
guage of Severe sarcasm ; and it
sliows a spirit fretted and chafed by
their reproaches. Job felt contempt
for their reasoning, and meant to
intimate that their maxims, on which
they placed so much reliance, were
common-piace, and such as every one
was familiar with. H .6/nrf icisdom
shall die with you. This is ironical,
but it is language such as is common
perhaps every where. " The people
of the East," says Roberts, "take
great pleasure in irony, and some of
their satirical sayings arc very cut-
ting. When a sage intimates that ho
has superior wisdom, or when he is
disposed to rally another for his mea-
gre attainments, he says, ' Yes, yes,
you are the man !' ' Your wisdom is
like the sea.' ' When you die, whith-
er will wisdom go.^'" In a serious

8 But I have ^ understanding
as well as you ; I ^ am not infe-
rior to you : yea, ^ who knoweth
not such things as these 1

3 with whom are not such as these ?

sense, language like this is used by
the classic writers to describe the
death of eminently great or good men.
They speak of wisdom, bravery, pie-
ty, or music, as dying with them,
thus IVIoschus, Idyll, iii. 12 :

"Otti (3i(x)v riOvriKev b PcoKoXog, 'im avv avrio
Kai Td niXos TsQpaicCy kuI oj\ero Acjpls dotSos.

" Bion the swain is dead, and with him song
has died, and the Doric muse has perished."

Expressions like these are common.
Thus in the 'Pleasures of Hope ' it is
said :

"And Freedom shrieked when Kosciusko fell."

3. But I have understanding as well
as you. Marg. as in the Heb. an
heart. The word heart in the Scrip-
tures is ofien used to denote the
understanding or mind. It seems to
have been regarded as the source of
that which was called life or soul.
Indeed, 1 do not recollect a single in-
stance in the Scriptures in which the
word ' head ' is used, as with us, as

CHAPTER XII.

179

4 I am as one mocked of his

tlie seat of the intellect, or where the
distinction is adverted to that is so
common with us, between the head
and the heart. With us, the heart is
the seat of the affections and emo-
tions; with the HebreAvs, it was tlie
seat )f understanding, and the oTtldy-
•/va — the viscera, the bowels, were
the seat of the emotions. See Notes
on Isa xvi 11. A more correct physi-
ology has taught us that the brain is
the urgan of the intellect, and we
now speak of the heart as the seat of
the affections. The Romans regard-
ed the breast as the seat of the soul.
Thus Virgil, speaking of the death of
Lucagus by the hand of ^neas, says :
Turn latcbras anima; pectus mucrone recludit.

Mti. X. 601.
IT / am not inferior to you. Marg.
fall not loicer than. This is the lite-
ral translation : ' I do not fall be-
neath you.' Job claims to be equal
to them in the power of quoting the
sayings of the ancients ; and in order
to show this, he proceeds to adduce a
number of proverbial sayings, occu-
pying the remainder of this chapter,
to show that he was familiar with
that mode of reasoning, and that in
this respect he was fully their equal.
This may be regarded as a trial of
skill, and was quite common in the
East. Wisdom consisted in storing
up a large amount of proverbs and
maxims, and in applying them readi-
ly and pertinently on all public occa-
sions ; and in this controversy. Job
was by no means disposed to yield to
them. II Yea, who knoweth not such
things as these? Marg. With lohom
are not such as these ? The meaning
is, that instead of being original, the
sentiments which they advanced
were the most common-place imagi-
nable. Job not only said that he
knew them, but that it would be
strange if every body did not know
them.

4. 7 am as one mocked of his neigh-
bor. There has been considerable
variety in the interpretation of this
verse. The general sense is, that

neighbour, who calleth upon

Job felt himself to be a mere laugh-
ing-stock for his neighbors. They
treated him as if he were not worth
regarding. They had no sympathy
for him in his sorrows, and they
showed no respect for his opinions.
Dr. Good understands this and the
following verses as a part of the con-
troversy in which Job proposes to
show his skill in debate, and to ad-
duce proverbs after the manner of
his friends. But it is more probably
an allusion to himself, and is design-
ed to state that he felt that he was
not treated with the respect which
was due to him. Much difficulty has
been felt in understanding the con-
nection. Reiske contends that ver.
2 has no connection with ver. 3, and
that vs. 11, 12, should be interposed
between them. The connection
seems to me to be this : Job com-
plains that he was not treated with
due deference They had showed
no respect for his understanding and
rank. They had urged the most
common-place topics ; advanced stale
and trite apothegms, as if he had
never heard them ; dwelt on maxims
familiar even to the meanest persons ;
and had treated him in this manner
as if he were a mere child in know-
ledge. Thus to be approached with
vague common-places, and with re-
marks such as would be used in
addressing children, he regarded as
insult and mockery. II Who calleth
u]ion God, and he avsicereth him.
This phrase has given occasion to
great variety in the interpretation.
Umbreit renders it, " I, who once
called upon God, and he answered
me ;" that is, I, who once was a
happy man, and blessed of God.
Schultens renders it, " I, who call
upon God," i. e. for trial, "and am
ready to answer him." RosenmQller
supposes that Job has reference to the
assurances of his friends, that if he
would call upon God, he would an-
swer him, and that in view of that
suggestion he exclaims, " Shall a man
who is a laughing-stock to his neigh

180

JOB

God, and he answereth him : the
just upright man is laughed to
scorn.

5 He that is ready to slip
with his feet is as a lamp de-

a Ps. 73 12, &c. Je. 12. 1, &c.

bor call upon God, and will he an-
swer him !' The probable meaning
is, that he had been a man who had
jiad constant communion with God.
He Iiad been a favorite of the Al-
mighty, for he had lent a listening
ear tohis supplications. It was now
a thing of which he might reasonably
complain, that a man who had enjoy-
ed such manifest tokens of the divine
favor, was treated with reproach and
scorn.

5. He that is ready to slip icith his
feet. The man whose feet waver or
totter ; that is, the man in adversity.
See Prov. xxv. 19. A man in pros-
perity is represented as standing
firm ; one in adversity as wavering,
or falling. See Ps. Ixxiii. 2.

But as for me, my feet wore almost gone ;
My steps had well nigli slipped.

There is much difficulty in this pass-
age, and it has by no means been
removed by the labor of critics. The
reader may consult RosenmUller,
(j'ood, and Schultens, on the ve.se,
for a more full attempt to illustrate
its meaning. Dr. Good, after Reiske
and Park hurst, has offered an expla-
nation by rendering the whole pass-
ago thus :

The just, the perfect man is a laughing-stock
to the proud.

A derision amidst the sunshine of the prosper-
ous,

\\'l:ile ready to slip with his foot.

It does not appear to me, however,
that tliis translation can be fairly
edui^ed from the Hebrew text, and I
am disposed to acquiesce in the more
common and obvious interpretation.
According to that, the idea is, that a
man in adversity, when falling from
a liigli condition of honor, is regarded
as an almost extinguished lamp, that
is now held in contempt, and is cast

spised in the thought of him that
is at ease.

6 The tabernacles of robbers
" prosper, and they that provoke
God are secure ; into whose
hand God bringeth abundantly.

away. When the torch was blazing,
it was regarded as of value ; when
nearly extinguished, it would be re-
garded as worthless, and would be
cast away. So when a man was in
prosperity, he would be looked up to
as a guide and example. In adversi-
ty, his counsels would be rejected,
and he would be looked upon with
contempt. Nothing can be more cer-
tain or more common than the fact
here adverted to. The rich and the
great are looked up to with respect
and veneration. Their words and
actions have an influence which those
of no other men have. When they
begin to fiill, others are willing to
hasten their fall. Long cherished
but secret envy begins to show itself;
those who wish to rise rejoice in their
ruin, and they are looked upon with
contempt in proportion to their for-
mer honor, rank, and power. They
are regarded as an extinguished torch
— of no value, and are cast away. IT In
the thought. In the mind, or the view.
IT Of him that is at ease. In a state
of comfort and prosperity. He finds
no sympathy from them. Job doubt-
less meant to apply this to his friends.
They were then at ease, and were
prosperous. Not suffering pain, and
not overwhelmed with poverty, they
now looked with the utmost compo-
sure on him — as they would on a
torch which was burnt out, and
which there would be no hope of re-
kindling.

6. The tabernacles of robbers pros-
per. The tents or dwellings of rob-
bers are safe and secure. This is
Job's original proposition, to which
he all along adheres. It is,^hat God
does not deal with men in this life
according to their character ; and in
support of this he now appeals to the
fact that the tents or dwellings of

CHAPTER XII.

idi

7 But ask now the beasts, and
they shall teach thee ; and the

robbers are safe. Arabia would fur-
nish many illustrations of this, which
could not be unknown to the friends
of Job. The Arabs dwelt in tents,
and they were then, as now, wander-
ing, predatory tribes. They lived, to
a great extent, by plunder, and doubt-
less Job could appeal to the observa-
tion of his friends for the proof of
this. He affirms tiiat so far from
dealing with men according to their
character, God often seemed to pro-
tect the public robber, and the blas-
phemer of bis name. 11 Prosper.
They are secure, tranquil, at rest —
for so the Hebrew word means. They
are not disturbed and broken in up-
on. !I And they that provoke God.
Or rather, 'the tents are secure to
those who provoke God.' Dr. Good
renders it, " and are fortresses to those
who provoke God ;" but the true
idea is, that the tents of those who
provoke God by their conduct are
safe. God does not seem to notice
them, or to come out in judgment
against them. TI Into tchose hand
God hringeth abundantly. Dr. Noyes
renders this, " who carry their God
in their. hand ;" but with much less
accuracy, as it seems to me, than
commonly characterizes his version.
Eichhorn renders it in a sense some-
what similar :
Die ihre Faust fiir ihre Gotthcit achten—

' who regard their fist as their God.'
And so Stuhlman renders it:

tTnd wem die Faust fiir Gottheit gilt —

' and to whom the fist avails for their
God;' that is, says he. Job means
that this is the course of the world.
Dr. Good renders it, " of him who
hath created all those things with his
hand" — still less accurately. In or-
der to this, he is obliged to sup-
pose an error in the text, but without
the slightest authority. Jerome ren-
ders it as in our version. The LXX,
" who provoke the Lord as if there
vould bo no trial to them — l^raatq,
14

fowls of the air, and they shall
tell thee ;

avroJt' — hereafter;" which certainly
makes sense, but it was never ob-
tained from the Hebrew. RosenmQl-
ler renders it, " who have their own
hand, i. e. potccr^ for God;" a de-
scription, says lie, of a wicked and
violent man who thinks it right for
him to do as he pleases. It seems to
mc, however, that the common inter-
pretation, which is the most simple,
is most in accordance with the He-
brew, and with the drift of the pass-
age. According to this it means,
that there is security to the man who
lives to provoke that God who is
constantly bringing to him in abun-
dance the tokens of kindness. This
is the fact on which Job is insisting —
that God does not treat men in this
world according to their real charac-
ter, but that the wicked are prospered
and the righteous are afflicted.

7. But ask now the beasts. Rosen-
mUller supposes that this appeal to
the inferior creation should be re-
garded as connected with ver. 3, and
that the intermediate verses are paren-
thetic. Zophar had spoken with con-
siderable parade of the wisdom of
God. He had said (ch. xi. 7, seq.)
that the knowledge of God was
higher than the heavens, and had
professed (ver. 6) to have himself
exalted views of the Most High. In
reply to this, Job says that the views
which Zophar had expressed, were
the most conmaon-place imaginable.
He need not pretend to be acquainted
with the more exalted works of God,
or appeal to them as if his know-
ledge corresponded with them. Even
the lower creation— the brutes— the
earth— the fishes— could teach him
knowledge which he had not now.
Even from their nature, properties,
and modes of life, higher views
might he obtained than Zophar had.
Others suppose, that the meaning is,
that in the distribution of happiness,
God is so far from observing moral
relations, that even among the lower
animals, the rapacious and the violent

182

JOB.

8 Or speak to the earth, and
it shall teach thee ; and the fishes
of the sea shall declare unto thee.

arc prospered, and the gentle and the
innocent are the victims. Lions,
wolves, and panthers are prospered —
the lamb, the kid, the gazelle, are the
victims. Either of these views may
suit the connection, though the latter
seems to me to be the more probable
interpretation. The object of Job is
to show that rewards and punish-
ments are not distributed according
to character. This was so plain in
his view as scarcely to admit of argu-
ment. It was seen all over the
world, not only among men, but even
in the brute creation. Everywhere
the strong prey upon the weak; the
fierce upon the tame ; the violent
upon the timid. Yet God does not
come forth to destroy the lion and the
liytEua, or to deliver the lamb and
the gazelle from their grasp. Like
robbers (ver. 6), — lions, panthers,
and wolves prowl upon the earth ;
and the eagle and the vulture from
the air pounce upon tlie defenceless,
and the great robbers of the deep
prey upon the feeble, and still are
prospered. What a striking illustra-
tion of the course of events among
men, and of the relative condition of
the righteous and the wicked ! No-
thing could be more pertinent to the
design of Job than this appeal, and
nothing was more in accordance with
the whole structure of the argument
in the poem, where wisdom is seen
mainly to consist in the result of care-
ful observation. II Jind they shall
teach thcc. Shall teach thee that God
does not treat all according to their
character. lie does not give security
to tlie gentle, the tame, and the inno-
cei.t, and jjunish the ferocious, the
blood-thirsty, and the cruel. IT ^nd
the folds. They shall give thee in-
formation of the point under discus-
sion. Those that prey upon others
— as the eagle and the vulture — are
not exposed at once to the divine
displeasure, and the tender and harm-

9 Who knoweth not in all
these, that the hand of the Lord
hath wroucrht this 1

less are not protected. The general
principle is illustrated in them, that
the dealings of God arc not always
in exact accordance with character.

8. Or speak to the earth., and it shall
teach thee. Perhaps this appeal to
the earth may mean, as Stuhlman
supposes, that the same thing is
shown in the productions of the
earth, as in the case of fierce ani-
mals. Noxious weeds and useless
plants are more thrifty than the
plants which are useful, and the
growth of poisonous or annoying
things on the earth illustrates the
same thing as the dealings of God
with men — that his dealings are not
in accordance with the real nature of
objects. IT Jlud the fishes of the sea.
The same thing is manifested in the
sea, where the mighty prey upon the
feeble, and the fierce and the fero-
cious overcome the defenceless. The
sentiment is, that it is a great prin-
ciple which pervades all things, that
the ferocious, the strong, the wicked,
are often prospered, while the weak,
the defenceless, the innocent, the
pious, are subject to calamities, and
that God does not apportion his deal-
ings to the exact character of his
creatures. Undoubtedly Job was right
in this, and this general principle
might be seen then, as now, to per-
vade the world.

9. Who knoweth not in all these.
Who cannot see in all these the
proofs of the same divine and sov-
ereign agency .' Who cannot see
the hand of the same God, and the
same great principles of administra-
tion 1 The meaning of Job is, that
the position which lie defends is so
plain, that it may be learned from the
very earth and the lowest orders of
animals which God has made. H That
the hand of the Lord hath icrovght
this. In this place the original word
is "^^iT^ — Jehovah. On the mean
ing of the word see Notes on IsQiali,

CHAPTER XII.

183

10 In whose hand is the ' soul
of every living thing, and the
breath of all '"' mankind.

ch. i. 2. The Chaldee also renders it
hero "^1 — Jah. It is remarkable that
tills is the only place where the name
Jehovah occurs in poetical parts of
the book of Job, in the printed edi-
tions. In ch. xxviii 28, Jehovah is
found in some manuscripts, though
the word Adonai is in the printed
copies. Eichhorn, Einleit. § 644,
JVote. In ch. xii. 9, the word Jeho-
vah, though found in the printed
editions, is wanting in nine ancient
manuscripts. Dr. J. P. Wilson, on
the " Hope of Immortality," p. 57.
Tlie word Jehovah constantly oc-
curs in the historical parts of the
book. On the argument derived from
this, in regard to the antiquity of tlie
book of Job, see the Introduction,
§ 4 iii. 3!

10. Ill whose hiind is the soul
of everij living tiling. Marg. Life.
The margin is the more correct ren-
dering. The idea is, that all are un-
der the control of God. He gives
life, and health, and happiness when
he pleases, and when he chooses he
takes them away. His sovereignty is
manifested, says Job, in the inferior
creation, or among the beasts of the
field, the fishes of the sea, and the
fowls of heaven. IT And the breath
of all mankind. Marg. Flesh of man.
The margin is in accordance with the
Hebrew. The meaning is, that man
is subjected to the same laws as the
rest of the creation. God is a sove-
reign, and the same great principles
of administration may be seen in all
his works.

11. Dotli not the ear try words?
Tl e literal meaning of this, which is
evidently a proverbial expression, is
plain ; but about its bearing here
there is more difficulty. The literal
sense is, that it is the office of the ear
to mark the distinction of sounds, and j
to convey the sense to the soul. But I
in regard to the exact bearing of this
(iroverb on the case in hand, com- I

11 Doth not the ear try words?
and the ' mouth taste his meat ?

I ox, life. '2flesliofman. 3 palate.

mentators have not been agreed.
Probably the sense is, that there
ought to be a diligent attention to
the signification of words, and to the
meaning of a speaker, as one care-
fully tastes his food ; and Job, per-
haps, may be disposed to complain
that his friends had not given that at-
tention which they ought to have
done to the true design and signifi-
cation of his remarks. Or it may
mean that man is endowed with the
faculty of attending to the nature and
qualities of objects, and that he ought
to exercise that ficulty in judging of
the lessons which are taugiit respect-
ing God or his works. H And the
mouth. Marg. as in the Heb. T|n —
palate. The word means not merely
the palate, but the lower part of the
mouth {Gesenius), and is especially
used to designate the organ or the
seat of taste. Ps. cxix. 103, Job vi.
30. II His meat. Its food— the word
meat being used in old English to de-
note all kinds of food. The sense
is, man is endowed with the faculty
of distinguishing what is wholesome
from what is unwholesome, and he
should, in like manner, exercise the
faculty which God has given him of
distinguishing the true from the false
on moral subjects. He should not
suppose that all that had been said, or
that could be said, must necessarily be
true. He should not suppose that
merely to string together proverbs,
and to utter common-place sugges-
tions, was a mark of true wisdom.
He should separate the valuable
from the worthless, the true from the
false, and the wholesome from tiie
injurious. Job complains that his
friends Jiad not done this. They had
shown no power of discrimination or
selection. They had uttered com-
mon-place apothegms, and they
gathered adiiges of former times,
without any discrimination, and had
iirsjed them in their arguments against

184

JOB.

12 With the ancient " is wis-
dom ; and in length of days un-
derstanding.

13 With ' him is wisdom and
strength, he hath counsel ' and
understanding.

a c. 32 7. 1 i. e. God.

him, whether pertinent or not. It
was by tliis kind of irrelevant and
miirellanoous remark that he feh that
he had been mocked by his friends,
ver. 4.

12. Jl'ith the ancient is loisdovi.
Witli the aged. The word t^t;^^
here used, means an old man, one
gray-headed. It is used chiefly in
poetry, and is commonly en)ployed
in the sense of one wjjo is decrepit
by age. It is rendered very aged in
Job XV. 10 ; " him that stooped for
fl^c,"' 2Chron. xxxvi. 17 ; " very old,"
Job xxxii. 6; and the aged, Job xxix.
8. The LXX render it, ' Ev ttoIXw
/ooj'w, in much time. The sense is,
that wisdom might be expected to be
found with the man who had had a
long opportunity to observe the course
of events; who had conversed with
a formor generation, and who had
had time for personal reflection. This
was in accordance with the ancient
Oriental views, where knowledge
was imparted mainly by tradition,
and where wisdom depended much
on the opportunity of personal obser-
vation. Comp. ch. xxxii. 7.

13. U^ith him is wisdom,. Marg.
correctly, " God." However much
wisdom there may seem to be with
aged men, yet the true wisdom— that
which was supreme and worthy of
the name— was to be found in God
alone. The object of Job was to lead
the thoughts up to God, and to bring
his friends to a contemplation of the
wisdom which he manifests in his
works. Accordingly Jie goes on in
the remainder of this chapter to state
boiik; of the illustrations of uisdt)m
and power which God had exhibited,
and particularly to show that he was
a sovereign, and did his pleasure

14 Behold, he breaketh down,
and it cannot be built again ; he
shutteth ''up a man, and there
can be no opening.

15 Behold, he withholdeth the
waters, and they dry up ; also he

b Pr. 8. 14. 2 itpon.

every where. He made all things ;
he sustains all things ; he reverses
the condition of men at his pleasure ;
he sets up whom he pleases, and
when he chooses lie casts them
down. His works are contrary in
many respects to what we should
anticipate ; and the sense of all is,
that God was a holy and a righteous
sovereign, and that such were the
reverses under his administration that
we could not argue that he treated
all according to their character on
earth.

14. Behold, he breaketh down. None
can repair what he pulls down.
Cities and towns he can devote to
ruin by fire, or earthquake, or the
pestilence, and so completely destroy
them that they can never be rebuilt.
JVe may now refer to such illustra-
tions as Sodom, Babylon, Petra, Tyre,
Herculaneum, and Pompeii, as full
proof of what is here affirmed. M He
shutteth zip a man. He can shut up a
man in such difficulties and strait <
that he cannot extricate himself. See
ch. xi. 10. The Chaldee renders
this, " he shuts up a man in the
grave (^^Pl'l^lSj^Si) and it cannot be
opened." But the more correct idea
is, that God has complete control
over a man, and that he can so hedge
up his way that he cannot help him-
self.

1.5. He withholdeth the icaters.
From the clouds and springs. He
has control over the rains and the
fountains ; and when these are with-
held, rivers and lakes become dry.

The Syriac renders this, J^.^ - 1
— if he rebuke the icaters, suppos-
ing that there might perhaps be an
allusion to the drying up of the Red

CHAPTER XII.

185

sendeth them out, and they over-
turn the earth.

16 With him is strength and
wisdom : the deceived " and the
deceiver are his.

17 He leadeth counsellors a-

a Ezk. 14. 9. b Is. 19 13.

Sea, or tlie formation of a passage for
llie Israelites. But it is remarkable
that in the argument here there is no
allusion to any historical fact, not to
the flood, or to the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah, or to the pas-
sage through the Red Sea, though
these occurrences would have fur-
nished so appropriate illustrations of
the points under discussion. Is it to
be inferred that Job had never heard
of any of those events .'' Or may it
have been that the lessons which
they were adapted to t(!ach had been
actually embodied in the proverbs
which he was using, and furnished
well known illustrations or the basis
of such apothegms.'' IT He sendeth
them out, and they overturn the earth.
Such inundations may have occurred
in the swollen torrents of Arabia, and
indeed are so common every where
as to furnish a striking illustration of
the power and sovereign agency of
God..

16. The deceived and the deceiver
are liis. This is designed to teach
that all classes of men are under his
control. All are dependent on him,
and all are subject to him. He has
power to keep them, and he can de-
stroy them when he pleases. Dr.
Good suj)poses that Job refers hereto
nimself and his friends who had be-
guiled him into expressions of impa-
tience and complaint. But it is more
probably a general declaration that
all classes of men were under the
control of God.

17. He leadeth counsellors away
spoiled. Plundered or captive. That
is, the counsels of wise and great
men do not avail against God. States-
men who promised themselves victo-
ry as the result of their plans he dis-
appoints, and leads away into cap-

way spoiled, and maketh the

judges '' fools.

18 He looseth the bond of
kings, and girdeth their loins
with a girdle.

19 He ' leadeth princes away

c Is 4.5. 1.

tivity. The object of this is to show
that God is superior over all, and
also that men are not dealt with in
exact accordance with their charac-
ter and rank. God is a sovereign,
and he shows his sovereignty when
defeating the counsels and purposes
of the wisest of men, and overturning
the plans of the mighty. IT And
ynaketh the judges fools. He leaves
them to distracted and foolish plans.
He leaves them to the adoption of
measures which result in their own
ruin. He is a sovereign, having con-
trol over the minds of the great, and
power to defeat all their counsels, and
to render them infatuated. Nothing
can be clearer than this. Nothing
has been more frequently illustrated
in the history of nations. In accord-
ance with this belief is the well-
known expression :

Q,uein Deus vult perdere priusque dementat.

" Whom God purposes to destroy, he first in-
fatuates."

18. He looseth the bend of kings
The bond of kings ('^^^'2) here
means that by which they bind oth-
ers. Tlieir power over others ho
loosens or takes away. ^ And girdeth
their loins tcith a girdle. That is,
he girds them with a rope or cord, and
leads them away as prisoners. The
whole series of remarks here refers
to the reverses and changes in the
conditions of life. The meaning
here is, that the bonds of authority
which they imposed on others are
unbound, and that their own loins
are bound with a girdle, not a girdle
of royal dignity and ornament, but
such a one as they are bound yvith
who are servants, or who travel. Pict.
Bib.

19. He leadeth jfrinces aicay spoiled

JOB.

and ovcrtbroweth the

186

spoiled
mighty.

'20 He removeth " away the
1 speech of the trusty, and taketh

a Is. 3. 1-3. 1 lip of the, faithful. b Da.

2. 2 1 , 22. 2 or, loosctk the girdle of the strong.

That is, plundered. The word here
rendered "princes" (Q'^?'!i3) means
properly priests, and it is usually so
rendered in the Scriptures. The an-
cient Hebrew interpreters suppose
that the word sometimes also means
prince. The Chaldee Paraphrast has
not unfrequently so rendered it, using
the word ^*^'!! to express it. Gen.
xli. 4.5. Ps. ex. 4. In this place, the
Vulgate renders it, sacerdotes ; and
the LXX, If o fig, priests. So Luther
renders it, Priestcr. So Castellio. It
can be applied to princes or states-
men only because priests were fre-
quently engaged in performing the
functions of civil officers, and were
in fact to a certain extent officers of
the government. But it seems to me
that it is to be taken in its usual sig-
nification, and that it means that even
the ministers of religion were at the
control of God, and were subject to the
same reverses as other men of dis-
tinction and power. IT And over-
throweth. Tlie word here used (^^^)
has the notion of slipping, or glid-
ing. So in Arabic, the word k»ft-Lw
means to slip by, and to besmear. See
Prov. xiii. 6 : " Wickedness over-
throweth (^i^Ori, causes to slip) the
sinner." Comp.' Prov. xxi. 12, xxii.
12. Here it means to overthrow, to
prostrate. The most mighty chief-
tains cannot stand firm before him,
but they glide away and fall.

20. He removeth away the speech of
the trusty. Marg. lip of the faithful.
"He takes away the lip," i.e. he
takes away the -power of giving safe
counsel or good advice. The "trus-
ty " or " faithful " here refer to those
of ago and experience, and on whose
counsel men are accustomed to rely.
The meaning here is, that their most

away the understandmg of the
aged.

21 He * poureth contempt
upon princes, and ^weakeneth
the strength of the mighty.

sagacious anticipations are disap-
pointed, their wisest schemes arc
foiled. They fail in their calculations
of the course of events, and the ar-
rangements of Providence are such
that they could not anticipate what
was to occur H The understanding
of the aged. To whom the young
were accustomed to look up with def-
erence and respect. The meaning
here is, that they who were accus-
tomed to give wise and sound advice,
if left by God, give vain and foolish
counsels.

21. He poureth contempt upon
princes. He has power to hurl them
from their tlirones, and to overwhelm
them with disgrace. H And iceaken-
eth the strength of the mighty. Marg.
as in Heb. looseih the girdle of the
strong. The Orientals wore loose
flowing robes, whi(;h were secured
by a girdle around the loins. When
they labored, ran, or travelled, their
robes were girded up. But this is
common every where. Wrestlers,
leapers, and runners, put a girdle
around them, and are able thus to
accomplish much more than they
otherwise could. To loosen that, is
to weaken them. So Job says that
God had power to loosen the strength
of the mighty. He here seems to
labor for expressions, and varies the
form of the image in every way to
show the absolute control which God
has over men, and the fact that his
power is seen in the reverses of man-
kind. Lucretius has a passage
strongly resembling this in the gene-
ral sentiment :

Usque adeo res Immanas, vis abdita queedam
Obteiit ; et pulcliros fasces, savasque secures,
Proculcare, atque ludibrio sibi habere, videtur.
Lib. V, 1232.

So from his awful shades, some Power unseen
O'eithrows all human gieatness ! Treads to
dust

CHAPTER XII.

187

22 He discovereth " deep
things out of darkness, and
bringeth out to light the shadow
^ of death.

23 He increaseth " the nations,
and destroyeth them ; he enlarg-
eth the nations, and ' straiteneth
them again,

a 1 Co. 4. 5. b c. 34. 22. c Ps. 107. 38.
1 leadeth iv. d Da. 4. 16. 33.

Rods, ensigns, crowns — the proudest pomps of

state ;
And laughs at all the mockery of man !

Good.

22. He discovereth deejJ things out
of darkness. That is, God discloses
truths which are wholly beyond the
power of man to discover — truths that
seem to be hidden in profound night.
This may refer either to the revela-
tion which God was believed to have
furnished, or to his power of bringing
out the most secret thoughts and pur-
poses, or to his power of predicting
future events by bringing them out
of darkness to the clear light of day,
or to his power of detecting plots,
intrigues, and conspiracies. U J3nd
bringeth out to light the shadoio of
death. On the meaning of the word
rendered " shado,w of death," see
Notes on ch. iii. 5. It here denotes
whatever is dark or obscure. It is
rather a favorite expression with the
author of this poem (see ch. x. 22,
xvi. 16, xxiv. 17, xxxiv. 22, xxxviii.
17), though it occurs elsewhere in
the Scriptures. The deepest dark-
ness, the obscurest night, are repre-
sented by it ; and the idea is, that
even from the most dark and impen-
etrable regions God could bring out
light and truth. All is naked and
open to the mind of God.

23. He increaseth the nations^ and
destroyeth them. He has entire con-
trol over them. The sources of pros-
j)er;ty are in his hand, and at his
pleasure he can visit them with fam-
ine, pestilence, or war, and diminish
their numbers and arrest their pros-
perity. Dr. Good renders this very
improperly, " He Ictteth the nations

24 He taketh way the heart
'^ of the chief of the people ot
the earth, and causeth them to
wander in a wilderness where
there is no way.

25 They grope * in the dark
without light, and he maketh
them to ^ stagger like a drunken
man.

cDe. 28.29. 2 wander.

grow licentious ;" but the word 'i^'Xi^
never has this sense. It means, to
make great ; to multiply ; to increase.
ir And straiteneth them again. Marg.
leadeth in. So the word <^n3 means.
The idea is, that he increases a na-
tion so that it spreads abroad beyond
its usual limits, and then at his pleas-
ure leads them back again, or con-
fines them within the limits whence
they had emigrated.

24. He taketh aivay the heart. The
word heart here evidentlj means
mind, intelligence, wisdom. See
Notes on ver. 3. IT Of the chief of
the people. Heb. ' Hc^tZ^ of the peo-
ple ;' that is, of the rulers of the
earth. The meaning is, that he
leaves them to infatuated and dis-
tracted counsels. By withdrawing
from them, he has power to frustrate
their plans, and to leave them to an
entire want of wisdom. See Notes
on ver. 17. U And causeth them to
tvander in a wilderness. They are
like persons in a vast waste of path-
less sands without a waymark, a
guide, or a path. The perplexity
and confusion of the great ones of the
earth could not be more strikingly
represented than by the condition of
such a lost traveller.

25. They grope in the dark. They
are like persons who attempt to feel
their way along in the dark. Comp.
Notes on Isa. lix. 10. IT And he mak-
eth them to stagger like a drunken
man. Marg. wander. Tiieir unsta-
ble and perplexed counsels are like
the reelings of a drunken man. See
Notes on Isa. xix. 14, xxiv. 20. This
closes the chapter, and with it the

188

JOB.

controversy in regard to the ability
to adduce pertinent and striking pro-
verbial expressions. See Notes on
vcr. 3. Job had showed them that
he was as flimiliar with proverbs re-
specting God as they were, and that
he entertained as exalted ideas of the
control and government of the Most
High as they did. It may be added,
that these (ire sublime and beautiful
expressions respecting God. They
surpass all that can be found in the

writings of the heathen ) and they
show that somehow in the earliest
ages there prevailed views of God
which the human mind for ages after-
wards, and in the most favorable cir-
cumstances, was not capable of origi-
nating. These proverbial sayings
were doubtless fragments of revealed
truth, which had come down by tra-
dition, and which were thus embodied
in a form convenient to be transmitted
from age to age.

CHAPTER XIII.

T O. mine eye hath seen all
-*-^ this, mine ear hath heard
and understood it.

2 What ye know, the same do
I know also ; I am not inferior
unto you.

a c. 23. 3. 31. 35.

1. Lo, mine eye hath seen all this.
I have seen illustrations of all that I
have said, or that you have said about
the methods of divine providence.

2. What ye know, &c. See Note
on ch. xii. 3.

3. Surely I would speak to the M-
inighty. I would desire to carry my
cause directly up to God, and spread
out my reasons before him. This Job
often professed to desire. See ch.
ix. 34, 35. He felt that God would
appreciate the arguments which he
would urge, and would do justice to
them. His friends he felt were cen-
sorious and severe. They neither
did justice to his feelings, nor to his
motives. They perverted his words
and arguments; and instead of con-
soling him, they only aggravated his
trials, and caused him to sink into
deeper sorrows. But he felt if he
could carry his cause to God, he
would do ample justice to him and

3 Surely I would speak to the
Almighty, " and I desire to rea-
son * with God.

4 But ye are forgers of lies,
ye are all physicians of no " va-
lue.

i Is. ]. 18. Mi. 6. 2, &c. c c. 16. 2.

his cause. The views which he en-
tertained of his friends he proceeds
to state at considerable length, and
without much reserve, in the follow
ing verses.

4. But ye dixe forgers of lies. The
word lies here seems to be used in a
large sense, to denote sophisms, false
accusations, errors. They maintained
false positions; they did not see the
exact truth in respect to the divine
dealings, and to the character of Job.
They maintained strenuously that
Job was a hypocrite, and that God
was punishing him for his sins. Tliey
maintained that God deals with men
in exact accordance with their char-
acter in this world, all of which Job
regarded as false doctrine, and assert-
ed that they defended it with sophis
tical arguments invented for the pur-
pose, and thus they could be spoken
of as ' forgers of lies.' H Physicians
of no zalue. Tlie meaning is, that

CHAPTER XIII.

5 Oh that ye would altogether
hold your peace ! and " it should
be your wisdom.

6 Hear now my reasoning,
and hearken to the pleadings of
my lips.

they had come to give him consola-
tion, but nothing that they had said
had imparted comfort. They were
hke physicians sent for to visit the
sick, w^ho could do nothing when
they came. Comp. ch. xvi. 2.

5. Oh that ye would altogether hold
your peace. You would show your
wisdom by silence. Since you can
say nothing that is adapted to give
comfort, or to explain tiie trde state
of the case, it would be wise to say
nothing. Comp. Prov. xvii. 28:
" Even a fool when he holdeth his
peace is counted wise."

7. WilL ye sjyeak wickedly for God?
Tliat is, will you maintain unjust
principles with a view to honor or to
vindicate God? Job refers doubtless
to the positions which they had de-
fended in regard to the divine admin-
istration— principles which he regard-
ed as unjust, though they had em-
ployed them professedly in vindicat-
ing God. The sense is, that unjust
principles ought not to be advanced
to vindicate God. The great cause
of truth and justice should always be
maintained, and even in attempting
lo vindicate the divine administra-
tion, we ought to make use of no ar-
guments which are not based on that
which is right and true. Job means
to reproach his friends with having,
in their professed vindication of God,
advanced sentiments which were at
war with truth and justice, and which
were full of fallacy and sophistry.
And is tliis' never done now.? Are
sophistical arguments never employed
in attempting to vindicate the divine
government .'' Do we never state
principles in regard to him v/hich we
should esteem to be unjust and disho-
norable if applied to man .'' Do not good
-nen sometimes feel that that govern-

7 Will ye speak wickedly *
for God ? and talk deceitfully "
for him 1

8 Will ye accept his person 1
will ye contend for God 1

a Pr. 17. 28. Am. 5. 13. b c. 32. 21, 22.
c 2 Co. 4. 2.

ment must be defended at all events;
and when they can see no reason for
the divine dealings, do they not make
attempts at vindicating them, which
are merely designed to throw dust in
the eyes of an opponent, and which
are known to be sophistical in their
nature ? It is wrong to employ a
sophistical argument on any subject ;
and in reasoning on the divine char-
acter and dealings, when we come, as
we often do, to points which we can-
not understand, it is best to confess it.
God asks no weak or sophistical ar-
gument in his defence ; still less can
he be pleased with an argument,
though in defence of his government,
which is based on unjust princi-
ples. ^ ^nd talk deceitfully for him.
Use fallacies and sophisms in at-
tempting to vindicate him. Every
thing in speaking of God, should be
true, pure, and sound. Every argu-
ment should be free from any appear-
ance of sophism, and should be such
as will bear the test of the most tho-
rough examination. No honor is
done to God by sophistical argu-
ments, nor can he be pleased when
such arguments are employed even to
vindicate and honor his character.

8. JVill ye accept his person? That
is, will you be, partial to him ? The
language is such as is used in relation
to courts of justice, where a judge
shows favor to one of the parties on
account of birth, rank, wealth, or per-
sonal friendship. The idea here is,
'will you, from partiality to God,
maintain unjust principles, and de-
fend positions which are really unte-
nable .'' There was a controversy be-
tween Job and God. Job maintain-
ed that he was punished too severely ;
that the divine dealings were unequal
and disproportioned to his offences

190

JOB.

His friends, he alleges, have not done
justice to the arguments which he
had urged, but had taken sides with
God against him, no matter wlial he
urged or what he said. So little dis-
posed were they to do justice to him
and to listen to' his vindication, that
no matter \Ahat he said, they set it
all down to impatience, rebellion,
andinsubmission. They assumed that
iie was wrong, and that God was
wholly right in all things. Of this
position that God was right, no one
could reasonably complain, and in his
sober reflections Job himself would
not be disposed to object to it; but
his complaint is, that though the con-
siderations which he urged were of
the greatest weight, they would not
allow their force, simply because they
were dctcrmmcd to vindicate God.
Their position was, that God dealt
with men strictly according to their
character ; and that no matter what
they suffered, their sufferings were the
exact measure of their ill desert.
Against this position, they would hear
nothing that Job could say ; and they
maintained it by every kind of argu-
ment which was at their command —
whether sound or unsound, sophisti-
cal or solid. Job says that this was
showing partiality for God, and he
felt that he had a right to complain.
We need never show ' partiality'
even for God. He can be vindicated
by just and equal arguments ; and we
need never injure others while we
vindicate him. Our arguments for
him should indeed be reverent, and
we should desire to vindicate his
character and government; but the
considerations which we urge need
not be those of mere partiality and
favor. IT Will ye contend for God?
I^anguage taken from a court of jus-
tice, and referring to an argument in
favor of a party or cause. Job asks
whether they would undertake to
maintain the cause of God, and he
may mean to intimate that they were
wholly disqualified for such an under-
taking. He not only reproves them
for a want of candor and impartiality,
as in the previous e.xpressions, but he

means to say that they were unfitted
in all respects to be the advocates of
God. They did not understand the
principles of his administration. Their
views were narrow, their information
limited, and their arguments eithe'-
common-place or unsound. Accord-
ing to this interpretation, the em-
phc'sis will be on the word ' ye' —
" will YE contend for God .'" The
whole verse may mean, ' God is not
to be defended by mere partiality, oi
favor. Solid arguments only should
be employed in his cause. Such vou
have not used, and you have shown
yourselves to be entirely unfitted for
this great argument.' The practical
inference which ice should draw
from this is, that our arguments in
defence of the divine administration,
should be solid and sound. They
should not be mere declamation, or
mere assertion. They should be such
as will become the great theme, and
such as will stand the test of any
proper trial that can be applied to
reasoning. There are arguments
which will ' vindicate all God's ways
to men ;' and to search them out
should be one of the great employ-
ments of our lives. If ministers of
the gospel would always abide by
these principles, they would often do
much more than they do now to
commend religion to the sober views
of mankind. No men are under
greater temptations to use weak or
unsound arguments than they are.
They feel it to be their duty' at all
hazards to defend the divine admin-
istration. They are in circumstances
where their arguments will not be
subjected to the searching process
which an argument at the bar will be,
where a keen and interested opponent
is on the alert, and will certainly sift
every argument which is urged.
Either by inability to explain the
difficulties of the divine government,
or by indolence in searching out ar-
guments, or by presuming on the
ignorance and dulness of their hear-
ers, or by a pride which will not
allow them to confess their ignorance
on any subject, they are in danger of

CHAPTER Xlir.

191

9 Is it good that he should
search you out ? or as one man
mocketh another, do ye so mock
" him ?

10 He will surely reprove you,

a Ga. 6. 7

attempting to hide a difficulty which
they cannot explain, or of using argu-
ments and resorting to reasoning,
which would be regarded as unsound
or worthless any where else. A
minister should always remember
that sound reasoning is as necessary
in religion as in other things, and
that there are always some men who
can detect a fallacy or see through
sophistry. With what diligent study
then should the ministers of the
gospel prepare for their work ! How
careful should they be, as the advo-
cates of God and his cause in a world
opposed to him, to find out solid ar-
guments, to meet with candor every
objection, and to convince men by
sound reasoning, that God is right!
Their work is to convince, not to de-
nounce ; and if there is any office of
unspeakable responsibility on earth, it
is that of undertaking to be the advo-
cates of God.

9. Is it good that he should search
you out? Would it be well for you
if he should go into an investigation
of your character, and of the argu-
ments which you adduce.'' The idea
is, that if God should make such an
investigation, the result would be
highly unfavorable to them. Per-
haps Job means to intimate that, if
they were subjected to the kind of
trial that he had been, it would be
seen that they could not bear it.
T[ Or as one man mocketh another.
The idea here is, 'it is possible to
delude or deceive man, but God can-
not be deceived. You may conceal
your thoughts and motives from man,
but you cannot from God. You may
use arguments that may impose upon
man — you may employ fallacies and
sophisms which he cannot detect, but
every such effort is vain with God.'
Comp. Gal. vi. 7.

if ye do secretly accept ^ per-
sons

II Shall not his excellency
make you afraid ? " and his
dread fall upon you ?

b Ps. 82. 1,2. c Je. 5. 22. 10. 7, 10.

10. He xcill surely reprove you, ify^
do secretly accept persons. If you
show partiality, you vv'ill incur his
disapprobation. This seems to have
much of a proverbial cast, and to
m.ean that under no possible circum-
stances was it right to show par-
tiality. No matter for whom it may
be done, it will be displeasing to
God. Even if it be in favor of the
righteous, the widow, the fatherless,
or of himself, if there is not a dispo-
sition to judge according to truth and
evidence, God will frown upon you.
No matter who the parties might be ;
no matter what their rank ; no mat-
ter what friendship there might be
for one or the other of them, it was
never to be assumed that one was
right and the other wrong without
evidence. The exact truth was to
be sought after, and the judgment
made up accordingly. Even when
God was one of the parties, the same
course was to be pursued. His char-
acter was capable of being success-
fully vindicated, and he would not
be pleased to have his cause defend-
ed or decided by partiality, or by
mere favor. Hence he encourages
men to bring forth their strong
reasons, and to adduce all that can
be said against his government and
laws. See Notes on Isa. xli. 1-21.

11. Shall not his excellency. His
exaltation (nxii: from i<^3 to exalt, to
lift up), or his majesty. Gen. xlix. 3.
IT Make you afraid. Fill you with
awe and reverence. Shall it not
restrain you from fallacy, from
sophisms, and from all presumptuous
and unfounded reasoning. The sense
here is, that a sense of the greatness
and majesty of God should fill the
mind with solemriity and reverence,
and make us serious and sincere ;
should repress all declamation and

192 JOB.

12 Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to

tliey regarded as so profound and
wortliy of attention, but which Job
was disposed to regard as most com-
inon-place, and to treat with con-
tempt. U Are like unto ashes. That
is, they are valueless. See Notes on
Isa. xiiv. 20. Their maxims had
abo'Jt the same relation to true wis-
dom which ashes have to substantial
and nutritious food. The Hebrew
here C^ES^- '^^^^) is rather, " are
parables of ashes ;" — the word ''^j^
meaning similitude, parable, proverb.
This interpretation gives more force
and beauty to the passage. IT Your
bodies — 'S^.'^r'^. Vulg. cervices. Sept.
TO df oo)/(a TtT^ltror — but the body is
clay. The Hebrew word 25, gabh^
means something gibbous (whence
the word gibbotis is derived), convex,
arched ; hence the back of animals or
men, Ezek. x. 12; the boss of a
shield or buckler — the gibbous, or
exterior convex part — Job xv. 26 ;
and then, according to Gesenius, an
entrenchment, a fortress, a strong-
hold. According to this interpreta-
tion, the passage here means, that
the arguments behind which they en-
trenched themselves were like clay.
They could not resist an attack made
upon them, but would be easily
thrown down, like mud walls, Gro-
tius renders it, "Your towers [of de-
fence] are tumuli of clay." Rosen-
muller remarks on the verse, that the
ancients were accustomed to inscribe
sentences of valuable historical facts
on pillars. If these were engraved
on stone, they would be permanent ;
if on pillars covered with clay, they
would soon be obliterated. On a
pillar or column at Alexandria, the
architect cut his own name at the
base deep in the stone. On the plas-
ter or stucco with which the column
was covered, he inscribed the name
of the person to whose honor it was
reared. The consequence was, that
that name became soon obliterated ;
his own then appeared, and was per-

mere assertion, and should lead us to
adduce only those considerations
which will bear the test of the final
trial. The general proposition, how-
ever, is not less clear, that a sense of
the majesty and glory of God should
at all times fill the n)ind with solemn
awe, and produce the deepest venera-
tion. See Jer. v. 22, x. 7-10. Gen.
xxviii. 17. 11 ^^nd his dread. The
fear of him. You should so stand in
awe of him as not to advance any
sentiments which he will not ap-
prove, or which will not bear the
test of examination. RosenmOller,
however, and after him Noyes, sup-
poses that this is not so much a de-
claration of what ought to be, imply-
ing that the fear of God ought to pro-
duce veneration, as a declaration of
what actually occurred — implying
that they were actually influenced
by this slavish fear in W'hat they
said. According to this it means
that they were actuated only by a
dread of what God would do to them
that led them to condemn Job with-
out proof, and not by a regard to
truth. But the common interpreta-
tion seems to me most in accordance
with the meaning of the passage.

12. Your remembrances are like
unto ashes. There has been a con-
siderable variety in the interpretation
of this verse. The meaning in our
common version is certainly not very
clear. The Vulgate renders it, Me-
moria vestra comparabitur cineri.
The LXX, '^TTo^rjaeTut. df { /noiy to
yavnfaiKx 7aa anodo) — your boasting
shall pass aicay like ashes. Dr. Good
renders it, " Dust are your stored-up
sayings." Noyes, " Your maxims
are words of dust." The word ren-
dered remembrances CJl^ST) means
properly remembrauce., memory., Josh,
iv. 7. Ex. xii. 14 ; then a memento., or
record ; then a memorable saying, a
maxim. This is probably the mean-
ing here ; and (he reference is to the
apothegms or proverbs which they
had so profusely uttered, and which

CHAPTER XIII.

193

bodies of clay*

13 ^ Hold your peace, let me
alone, that I may speak, and let
come on me what will.

manent. But the meaning here is
rather, that the apothegms and max-
mis behind which they entrenched
themselves were like mud walls, and
could not withstand an attack.

13. Hold your peace. Marg. Be
silent frovi me. See ver. 5. It
is possible that Job may have per-
ceived in them some disposition to
interrupt him in a rude manner in
reply to the severe remarks which
ho had made, and he asked the privi-
lege, therefore, of being permitted to
go on, and to say what he intended,
let come what would. IT .^nd let
come on me rckat will. Any thing,
whether reproaches from you, or
additional sufferings from the hand
of God. Allow me to express my
sentiments, whatever may be the
consequences to myself. One can-
not but be forcibly reminded by this
vcrstt of the remark of Themistocles,
''Strike, but hear me."

14. Wherefore do I take my flesh in
my teeth. The meaning of the pro-
verbial expressions in this verse is
not very clear. Tiiey indicate a
state of great danger ; but the exact
sense of the proverbs it has been diffi-
cult to ascertain. Some have sup-
posed that the phrase ' to take the
flesh in the teeth,' is significant of a
state of famine, where a man dying
from this cause would seize upon his
own flesh and devour it ] others, that
it refers to the contentions of vora-
cious animals, struggling for a piece
of flesh ; others that it refers to the
fact that what is borne in the teeth is
liable to be dropped, and t!iat Job
regarded his life as in such a perilous
condition. Schultens regards it as
denoting that bold courage in which
a man exposes his life to imminent
peril. He supposes that it is to be
taken in connection with the previous
verse, as intimating that he would go
forward and speak at any rate, what-

14 Wherefore do I take my
flesh in my teeth, and put my
life in my hand ?

1 be silent from vie.

ever might be the result. He trans-
lates it, ' Whatever may be the event,
I will take my flesh in my teeth, and
my life in my hand.' In this interpre-
tation Rosenmiiller concurs. Noyes
renders it, "I will count it nothing
to bear my flesh in my teeth." Good,
"Let what may — I will carry my
flesh in my teeth ;" and supposes
that the phrase is equivalent to say-
ing, that he would incur any risk or
danger. The proverb he supposes is
taken from the contest which so fre-
quently takes place between dogs
and other carnivorous quadrupeds,
when one of them is carrying a bone
or piece of flesh in his mouth, which
becomes a source of dispute and a
prize to be fought for. The Vulgate
renders it, Qiiare laccro carnes meas
dentibtis meis. The LXX, ' Taking
my flesh in my teeth, I will put my
life in my hand.' It seems to me,
that the language is to be taken in
connection with the previous verse,
and is not to be regarded as an inter-
rogatory, but as a declaration. ' Let
come upon me any thing — whatever
it may be — J^^ — (ver. 13) on account
of that, or in reference to that — >S)
na" — (ver. 14), I will take my life in
my hand, braving any and every dan-
ger.' It is a firm and determined
purpose that he would express his
sentiments, no matter what might
occur — even if it involved the peril
of his life. The word ^ flesh ' I take
to be synonymous with life, or with
his best interests ; and the figure is
probably taken from the fact that
animals thus carry their prey or spoil
in their teeth. Of course, this would
be a poor protection. It would be
liable to be seized by others. It
might even tempt and provoke others
to seize it ; and would lead to con-
flict and perils. So Job felt that the
course he was pursuing would lead

194

JOB.

15 Though " he slay me, yet
will I trust in him : but I will

a Ps. 23 4. Pr. 14.

him into danger, but he was deter-
mined to pursue it, let come what
might. IT Jlnd put my life in mine
hand. This is a proverbial expres-
sion, meaning the same as, I will ex-
pose myself to danger. Any thing of
value taken in the hand is liable to be
rudely snatched away. It is like tak-
ing a casket of jewels, or a purse of
gold, in the hand, which may at any
moment be seized by robbers. The
phrase is not uncommon in the Scrip-
tures to denote exposure to great pe-
ril. Comp. Ps. cxix. 109, "My soul
is continually in my hand." 1 Sam.
xix. 5, "For he did put his life in
his hand, and slew the Philistine."
Judges xii. 3, "I put my life in
my hands, and passed over against
the children of Amnion " A similar
expression occurs in the Greek clas-
sics, denoting exj)osure to imminent
danger — iv rfj /ftol ri]v xpv/rjv I'/fi —
he has his life in his hand. See Ros-
enmuller on Ps. cxix. 109. The Arabs
have a somewhat similar proverb, as
quoted by Schultens, "His flesh is
upon a butcher's block."

15. Though he slay me. ' God may
so multiply my sorrows and pains
that I cannot survive them. 1 see
that I may be exposed to increased
calamities, yet I am willing to meet
them. If in maintaining my own
cause, and showing that I am not a
hypocrite (ver. ]8), it should so hap-
pen that my sufterings should be so
increased that I should die, yet I will
do it.' The word slay., or kill., here
refers to temporal death. It has no
reference to punishment in the future
world, or to the death of the soul. It
rneuns merely that Job was deter-
mined to maintain iiis cause and de-
fend his character, though his suffer-
ings should be so increased that life
would be the forfeit. Such was the
extent of liis sufferings, that he had
reason to suppose that they would
terminate in death ; and yet notwith-

^ maintain mine own ways before
him.

1 prove, or, argue.

Standing this, it was his fixed pur-
pose to confide in God. Comp. Notes
on ch. xix. 25-27. This was spoken
in Job's better moments, and was his
deliberate and prevailing intention.
This deliberate purpose expresses
what was really the character of the
man, though occasionally, when he-
became impatient, he gave utterance
to different sentiments and feelings.
We are to look to the prevailing and
habitual tenor of a man's feelings and
declared principles, in order to deter-
mine what his character is, and not
to expressions made under the influ-
ence of temptation, or under the
severity of pain. On the sentiment
here expressed, comp. Ps. xxiii. 4.
Prov. xiv. 32. IF Yet will I trust in
him. The word here used (^'[}'^t)
means properly to wait, stay, delay ;
and it usually conveys the idea of
tcaiting on one with an expectation
of aid or help. Hence it means to
hope. The sense here is, that his
expectation or hope was in God ; and
if the sense expressed in our common
version be correct, it implies that
even in death, or after death, he
would confide in God. He would
adhere to him, and would still feci
that beyond death he would bless
him. IT In him. In God. But there
is here an in)portant variation in the
reading. The present Hebrew is 5<?
— not. The kcri., or marginal read-
ing, is 15 — in him. Jerome renders
it as if it were 1'' — in ipso, that is, in
him. The LXX followed some read-
ing which does not now appear in
any copies of the Hebrew text, or
which was the result of mere imagi-
nation : 'Though the Almighty, as
he hath begun, may subdue me —
•/finojfffTai — yet will I speak, and
maintain my cause before him.' The
Chaldee renders it, "|^5< i^TS'i;^,—/
will pray before him ; evidently read-

CHAPTER XIII.

195

16 He also shall he my salva-
tion ; "■ for an hypocrite '' shall

mg it as if it were \^ — in him. So
the Syriac, ov-ik — in him. I have
no doubt, therefore, that this was the
ancient reading, and tliat the true
sense is retained in our common ver-
sion ; thougli Rosen miiller, Good,
Noyes, and others, have adopted tiie
other reading, and suppose that it is
to be taken as a negative. Noyes
renders it, ' Lo ! he slayeth me, and
1 iiave no hope !' Good, much worse,
' Should he even shiy me, I vvouhi
not delay.' It may be added, that
there are frequent instances where
X^ and i' arc interchanged, and
where the copyist seems to have been
determined by the sound rather than
by a careful inspection of the letters.
According to the Masorites, there are
fifteen places where 5<', not, is writ-
ten for 1'', to him. Ex. xxi. 8. Lev.
xi. 21, XXV. 30. 1 Sam. ii. 3. 2 Sam.
xvi. 18. Ps. c. 3, cxxxix. 16. Job xiii.
15, xli. 4. Ezra iv. 2. Prov. xix. 7,
xxvi.2. Isa. ix. 2, Ixiii. 9. On the
other hand, "i' is put for !^' in 1 Sam.
ii. 16, XX. 2. Job vi. 21. A mistake
of this kind may have easily occurred
here.. The sentiment here expressed
is one of the noblest that could fill
from the lips of man. It indicates
unwavering confidence in God, even
in death. It is the determination of
a mind to adhere to him, though he
should strip away comfort after com-
fort, and though there should be no
respite to his sorrows until he should
sink down in death. This is the high-
est expression of piety, and tliis it is
the privilege of the friends of God to
experience. When professed earthly
friends become cold towards us, our
love for them also is chilled. Should
the}^ leave and forsake us in the
midst of suff'ering and want, and espe-
cially should they leave us on a bed
of death, we should cease to confide
in them. But not so in respect to
God. Such is the nature of our con-
fidence in him, that though he takes

not come before him.

a Ps. 27. 1. b Is. 33. 14.

away comfort after comfort, though
our health is destroyed and our friends
are removed, and though we are led
down into the valley and the shadow
of death, yet still we never lose our
confidence in him. We feel that all
will yet be well. We look forward to
another state, and anticipate the bless-
edness of another and a better world.
Reader, can rjou'xn sincerity lift the eye
toward God, and say to him, ' Though
Thou dost slay me, though comfort
after comfort is taken away, though
the waves of trouble roll over me,
and though I go down into the valley
of the shadow of death, yet I will
TRUST IN Thke; — Thine I will be
even then, and when all is dark I
will believe that God is right, and
just, and true, and good, and will
never doubt tiiat he is worthy of my
eternal aftection and praise .'' Such
is religion. Where else is it found
but in the views of God and of his
government which the Bible reveals .''
The infidel may iiave apathy in his
sufi'erings, the blasphemer may be
stupid, the moralist or the formalist
may be unconcerned ; but that is not
to have confidence in God. That re-
sults from religion alone. U But I
wili maintain mine oion ways before
him. Marg. prove, or argue. The
sense is, I will vindicate my ways, or
myself That is, I will maintain
that I am his friend, and that I am
not a hypocrite. His friends charged
him with insincerity They were
not able. Job supposed, to appreciate
his arguments and to do justice to
him. He had, therefore, expressed
the wish to carry his cause directly
before God (ver. 3) : and he was as-
sured that He would do justice to
his arguments. Even should he slay
him, he would still stand up as his
friend, and would still maintain that
his calamities had not come upon
him, as his friends supposed, be-
cause he was a hypocrite and a se-
cret enemy of his Maker.

16. He also shall be my salvation.

196

JOB.

17 Hear diligently my speech,
and my declaration with your
ears.

18 Behold now, I have order-
ed my cause ; I know that I shall
be justified.

See Notes on Is. xii. 2. Literally,
" He is unto me for salvation," that
is, ' I put my trust in him, and he
will save me. The opportunity of
appearing before God, and of main-
taining my cause in his presence, will
result in my deliverance from the
charges which are alleged against me.
I shall be able there to show that I
am not a hypocrite, and God will be-
come my defender.' U For anhypo-
crite shall not come before hem. This
seems to be a proverb, or a statement
of a general and indisputable princi-
ple. Job admitted this to be true.
Yet he expected to be able to vindi-
cate himself before God, and this
would prove that he was not an hypo-
crite— on the general principle that a
man who was permitted to stand be-
fore God and to obtain his favor,
could not be an unrighteous man.
To God he looked with confidence ;
and God, he had no doubt, would be
his defender. This fact would pxove
that he could not be an hypocrite,
as his friends iriaintained.

17. Hear diligentlij my speech.
That which I have made ; that is, the
declaration which I have made of my
innocence. He refers to his solemn
declaration, (ver. 15, 16,) that he had
unwavering confidence in God, and
that even should God slay him he
would put confidence in him. This
solemn appeal he wished them to at-
tend to as one of the utmost import-
ance.

18. I have ordered my cause. liite-
lally, 'judgment .?'—'J2ttJ 73. The
LXX render it, "I am' iiear {iyyvq
fltii) to my judgment," or my trial.
The meaning may be, that he had
gone through the pleading, and had
said wiiat he wished in self-vindica-
tion, and he was willing to leave the
eabse with God, and did not doubt the

19 Who ' is he that will
plead with me ? for now, if I
hold my tongue, I shall give up
the ghost.

c Is. 50. 8. Ro.

8. 33, 34.

issue. Or more probably, I think, the
word '^^?'!'^' should be taken, as the
word "^^^"1^ is, in the present tense,
meaning, 'I now set in order m^'^
cause; I enter on the pleading; I
am confident that I shall so present
it as to be declared righteous.' IT /
knoio that I shall hejastificd. I have
no doubt as to the issue. I shall be
declared to be an holy man, and not
a hypocrite. The word rendered 'I
shall be justified' (p'HSX) is used
here in the proper and literal sense
of the word justify. It is a term of
law ; and means, ' I shall be declared
to be righteous. I shall be shown not
to be guilty in the form charged on
me, and shall be acquitted or vindi-
cated.' This sense is different from
that which so often occurs in the
Scriptures when applied to the doc-
trine of the justification of a sinner.
Then it means, to treat one as if he
were righteous., though he is personal-
ly guilty and undeserving.

19. Who is he that will ])lcad with
me? That is, 'who is there now
that will take up the cause, and entci
into an argument against me ? I have
set my cause before God. I appeal
now to all to take up the argument
against me, and have no fear if they
do as to the result. I am confident
of a successful issue, and await calm-
ly the divine adjudication.' TT For
now), if 1 hold, viy tongue, I shall give
up the ghost. This translation, in
my view, by no means expresses the
sense of the original, if indeed it is
not exactly the reverse. According
to this version, the meaning is, that
if he did not go into a vindication ol
himself he would die. The Hebrew,
however, is, "for now I will be si-
lent, and die." That is, ' I have main-
tained my cause, I will say no more.

CHAPTER XIII.

197

20 Only do not two things
unto me : then will I not hide
myself from thee.

21 Withdraw " thine hand far

a Vs. 39. 10. b c. 38. 3.

If there is any one who can success-
fully contend vvitli nie, and can prove
tlial my course cannot be vindicated,
then I Jiave no more to say. I will
be silent, and die. I will submit to
my fate witiiout furtlier argument,
and without a murmur. I have said
all that needs to be said, and nothing
would remain but to submit and die.'
20. Onhj do not tico things unto vie.
The two things which are specified
in the following verse. Tliis is an
address to God as Job argues his
cause before him, and the request is,
that he would remove every obstacle
to his presenting his cause in the
most favorable manner, and so that
he may be on equal terms with him.
See Notes ch. ix. o4, 35. He was
ready to present his cause, and to
plead before God, as (ver. 18) he
had the utmost confidence that he
would be able so to present it as to
vindicate hinjself; and he asks of
God that he would withdraw his hand
for a time (ver. 21) and not terrify
him (ver. 21), so that he could pre-
sent his case with the full vigor of
his mind and body, and so that he
need not be overawed by the sense
of the majesty and glory of the Most
High. He wished to be free to pre-
sent his cause without the impedi-
ments arising from a deeply distress-
ing and painful malady. He wished to
have his full intellectual and bodily
vigor restored for a time to him, and
then he was confident that he could
successfully defend himself. He felt
that he was now enfeebled by disease,
and incapacitated from making the
effort for self-vindication and for
maintaining his cause, which he
Avould have been enabled to make in
his palmy days. \\ Then will I not
hide myself from thee. From God.
I will stand forth boldly and main-
tain ray cause. I will not attempt to

from me : and let not thy dread
make me afraid.

22 Then call ' thou, and I
will answer : or let me speak,
and answer thou me.

conceal myself, or shun the trial and
the argument. See. ch. ix. 34, 35.

21. Withdrcno thine Jiand fur from
me. Notes ch. ix. 34. The hand of
God here is used to denote the cala-
mity or affliction which Job was suf-
fering. The meaning is, ' Remove
my affliction ; restore me to health,
and I will then enter on tlie argu-
ment in vindication of my cause. 1
am now oppressed, and broken down,
and enfeebled by disease, and I can-
not present it with the vigor which I
might evince if I were in health.'
IT JInd let not thy dread make me
afraid. ' Do not so overpower mo
by thy severe majesty, that I can-
not present my cause in a calm and
composed manner.' See Notes ch.
ix. 34. Job felt that God had power
to overawe him, and he asked, there-
fore, that he might have a calm and
composed mind, and then he would
be able to do ju.?tice to his own cause.

22. Then call thousand I will an-
swer. Call me to trial; summon me
to make my defence. This is lan-
guage taken from courts of justice,
and the idea is, that if God would re-
move his calamity, and not overawe
him, and would then call on him to
make a defence, he would be ready
to respond to his call. The language
means, ' be thou plaintiff in the case,
and I will enter on my defence.' He
speaks now to God not as to a judge
but as a party, and is disposed to go
to trial. See Notes on ch. ix. 33-35.
IT Or let me speak, and a?iswer thou
me. ' Let me be the plaintiff", and
commence the cause. In any way,
let the cause come to an issue. Let
me open the cause, adduce my argu-
ments, and defend my view of the sub-
ject; and then do thou respond.' The
idea is, that Job desired a fair trial.
He was willing that God should se-
lect his position, and should either

198

JOB.

23 How many are mine ini- ] thy face, and boldest me foi
quities and sins? make me to thine enemy? '

know " my transgression and my 25 WiJt thou break ^ a leal
sin. driven to and fro ? and wilt thou

24 Wherefore hidest ^ thou pursue the dry stubble ?

a c. 34. 32. Jno. 16. 8. 9. b Ps. 102. 2. c La. 2. 5 d Is. 42. 3.

open the cause, or respond to it when
he had Jiimself opened it. To our
view, there is something tJiat is quite
irreverent in this language, and I
know not that it can be entirely vin-
dicated. But perhaps, when the idea
of a trial was once suggested, all the
rest may he regarded as the mere fill-
ing up^ or as language fitted to carry
out that single idea, and to preserve
the concinnity of the poem. Still, to
address God in this manner is a wide
license even for poetry. There is
the language of complaint here ; there
is an evident feeling that God was
not right; there is an undue reliance
of Job on his own powers; there is
a disposition to blame God which we
can by no means approve, and which
we are not required to approve. But
let us not too harshly blame the patri-
arch. Let him who has suffered much
and long, who feels that he is for-
saken by God and by man, who has
lost property and friends, and who is
suffering under a painful bodily mala-
dy, if he has never had any of those
feelings, cast the first stone. Let not
those blame him who Jive in afflu-
ence and prosperity, and who have
yet to endure the first severe trial of
life. One of the objects, I suppose,
of tliis poem is, to show Jnnnan na-
ture as it is ; to show how good men
often feel under severe trial ; and it
would not be true to nature if the
representation had been that Job was
always calm, and that he never cher-
ished an improper feeling or gave
vent to an improper thought.

23. Ho70 many are mine iniquities
and sins? Job takes the place of the
plaintiff or accuser. He opens the
c.uise. He appeals to God to state
tiie catalogue of his crimes, or to
bring forward his charges of guilt

against him. The meaning, accord-
ing to Schultens, is, "That catalogue
ought to be great which has called
down so many and so great calami-
ties upon my head from heaven, when
I am conscious to myself of being
guilty of no oftence." God sorely
afflicted him. Job appeals to him to
show ichy it was done, and to make
a statement of the number and the
magnitude of his offences. H Make
me to kno7c. I would know on what
account and why I am thus held to
be guilty, and why I am thus pun-
ished.

24. Wherefore hidest thou thy face.
To hide the face, or to turn it away,
is expressive of disapprobation. VVe
turn away the face when we are
offended with any o»e. See Notes
on Isa. i. 15. 1i And holdest me for
thine enemy. Regardest and treatest
me as an enemy.

25. Wilt thou break a leaf driven to
and fro ? Job here means to say that
the treatment of God in regard to him
was like treading down a leaf that
was driven about by the wind — an
insignificant, unsettled, and worth-
less thing. ' Wouldst thou show thy
power against such an object .'"' —
The sense is, that it was not wor-
thy of God thus to pursue one so
unimportant, and so incapable of offer-
ing any resistance. IF And wilt thou
pursue the dry stubble ? Is it worthy of
God thus to contend v^ith the driven
straw and stubble of the field.? To
such a leaf, and to such stubble, he
compares himself; and he asks whe-
ther God could be employed in a
work such as that would be, of pur-
suing such a flying leaf or driven
stubble with a desire to overtake it,
and wreak his vengeance on it.

CHAPTER XIII.

199

26 For thou writest bitter
thiiiors aaainst me, and makest

26. For thou icritcst hitter things
acrainst vie Charges or accusations
ot" severity. We use the word hitter
now in a somewhat similar sense.
We speak of bitter sorrow, bitter cold,
&c. The language hero is all taken
from courts of justice, and Job is car-
rying out the train of tliought on
which he had entered in regard to
a trial before God. ' lie says that the
accusations which God had brought
against him were of a bitter and se-
vere character; charging him witJi
aggravated otlenccs, and recalling the
sins of his youlii, and holding him
responsible for them, llosenmuller
remarks that the word icritc here is a
judicial term, referring to the custom
of writing the sentence of a person
condemned (as in Ps. cxlix. 9. Jer.
xxii. 30) ; that is, decreeing the pun-
ishment. So the Greeks used the
expression yqacp^nOai diy-tji'^ mean-
ing to declare a judicial sentence.

So the Arabs use the word ^.-jLX^s
icriting to denote a judicial sentence.
II And makest vie to possess. Heb.

Causest me to inherit — '^V4?'^'l'^'^1. He
was heir to them ; or they were now
his as a possession or an inheritance.
The Vulgate renders it, consuv^ere vie
vis, etc. " thou wishest to consume me
with the sins of my youth." The
LXX, "and ihou dost charge against
me" — 7retjif>9)]y.a.;. M The inic/uif.ies
of V17J youth. The offences which I
committed when }oung. He com-
plains now that God recalled all those
offences; that he went into days that
were past, and raked up what Job had
forgotten ; that, not satisfied with
charging on him what he had done
as a man, he went back and collected
all that could be found in the days
when he was under the influence of
youthful passions, and when, like
other young men, he might have
gone astray. But why should he not
do it .' What impropriety could there
be in God in thus recalling the me-

me to possess the iniquities of
my youth. "■

a Ps. 25. 7.

mory of long-forgotten sins, and caus-
ing the results to meet him now that
he was a man .-' We may remark
here, (1.) That tfus is often done.
The sins and follies of youth seem
often to be passed over or to be unno-
ticed by God. Long intervals of time
or long tracts of land or ocean may
intervene between the time when sin
was committed in youth, and when it
shall be punished in age. The man
may himself have forgotten it, and
after a youth of dissipation and folly
he may perhaps have a life of pros-
perity for many years. But those
sins are not forgotten by God. Far
on in life the results of early dissipa-
tion, licentiousness, folly, will meet
the offender, and overwhelm him in
disgrace or calamity. (2.) God has
power to recall all the offences of
early life. He has access to the soul.
He knows all its secret springs. With
infinite ease he can reach the memo-
ry of a long-forgotten deed of guilt ;
and he can overwhelm the mind with
the recollection of crimes that have
not been thought of for years, fie
can fix the attention with painful in-
tensity on some slight deed of past
criminality; or he can recall forgot-
ten sins in groups; or he can make
the remembrance of one sin suggest
a host of others. No man who has
passed a guilty youth can be certain
that his mind will nr the overwhelmed
with painful recollections, and how-
ever calm and secure he may now be,
he may in a moment be harassed
with the consciousness of deep crimi-
nality, and v/irh most gloomy appre-
hensions of the wrath to come. (3.)
A young man should be pure. He has
otherwise no security of respectability
in future life, or of pleasant recollec-
tions of the past, sliould he reach old
age. He who spends his early days
in dissipation must expect to reap the
fruits of it in future years. Those sins
will meet him in his way, and most
probably at an unexpected moment,

200

JOB.

27 Thou puttest my feet also
the stocks, " and ' lookest

«c. 33. 1],

and in an unexpected place. If he j
ever becomes a good man, he will
have many an hour of bitter and pain-
ful regret at the follies of his early
life ; if he does not, he will meet the
accumulated results of his sin on the
bed of death and in hell. Somevv-here,
and somehow, every instance of folly
is to be remembered hereafter, and
will be remembered with sighs and
tears. (4.) God rules among men.
There is a moral government on the
earth. Of this there is no more cer-
tain proof than in this fact. The
power of summoning up past sins to
the recollection ; of recalling those
that have been forgotten by the of-
fender himself, and of placing them
in black array before the guilty man;
and of causing them to seize with a
giant's grasp upon the soul, is a power
such as God alone can wield, and
shows at once that there is a God,
and that he rules in the hearts of men.
And (5.) If God holds this power
now, he will hold it in the world to
come. The forgotten sins of youth,
and the sins of age, will be remem-
bered then. The sinner walks over
a volcano. It may be now calm and
still. Its base may be crowned with
verdure, its sides with orchards and
vineyards; and far up its heights the
tall tree may wave, and on its sum-
mit the snow may lie undisturbed.
But at any moment that mountain
may heave, and the burning torrent
spread desolation every where. So
with the sinner. He knows not liow
Boon the day of vengeance may come ;
how soon he may be made to inherit
the sitis of his youth.

27. Thou puhest my feet also in the
stocks. The word rendered stocks
(TO ), denotes the wooden frame
or block in which the feet of a
person were confined for punish-
ment. The whole passage here is
designed to describe the feet as so
confined in a clog or clogs, as to pre-
clude the power of motion. Stocks

narrowly unto all my paths ;
thou settest a print upon the

1 observest.

or clogs were used often in ancient
times as a mode of punishment.
Prov. vii. 22. Jeremiah was punish-
ed by being confined in the stocks.
Jer. XX. 2, xxix. 6. Paul and Silas
were in like manner confinea in the
prison in stocks. Acts xvi.24 Stocks
appear to have been of two kinds.
They were either cJogs attached to
one foot or to both feet, so as to em-
barrass, but not entirely to prevent
walking, or tliey were fixed frames
to vvJiich the feet were attached so as
entirely to preclude motion. The
former were often used with runaway
slaves to prevent their escaping again
when taken, or were affixed to pri-
soners to prevent their escape. The
fixed kinds — whicli are probably re-
ferred to here — were of different
sorts. They consisted of a frame,
with holes for the feet only; or for
the feet and the hands; or for the
feet, the hands, and the neck. At
Pompeii, stocks have been found so
contrived that ten prisoners might be
chained by the leg, each leg sepa-
rately, by the sliding of a bar. Pict.
Bible. The form of this instrument,
as seen in the East at this day, is
given in the following cuts :

The upper half (a) being removed,
each leg is placed, just above the an-
kle, in the groove of the lower half,
and then the upper part is fastened
down so as to confine them inextri-
cably. The instrument for confining
the hands is formed on the same
principle, and is represented in thecut
on the next page. The instrument is
still used in India, and is such as to
confine the limbs in a very distressing
position, though the head is allowed
to move freely. Tl Jlnd lookest nur-

CHAPTER XIII,

201

'heels of my feet.

28 And he, as a rotten thing,

consumeth, as a garment that is
moth-eaten.

roicly unto all my paths. This idea
occurs also irr ch. xxxiii. 11, though
expressed somewhat diflerently, " He
putteth my feet in the stocks, he
marketh all my paths." Probably
the allusion is to the paths by which
he might escape. God v/atched, or
observed every way — as a sentinel or
^uard would a prisoner who \vas
iiampered or clogged, and who would
make an attempt to escape. TT Thou
settest a print upon the heels ofnujfeet.
Mnrg. roots. Such also is the He-
brew— ■^b'l'l '^^'!1^. Vulg. vestigia.
Sept. ' Upon the roots — fiq d? (Vta,- —
of my feet thou comest." The word
U;"l'd3 means properly root; then the
bottom, or the lower ])art of a thing ;
and hence the soles of the feet. The
word rendered ' settest a print,' from
•^l^i^, means to cut in, to hevi^, to
hack ; then to engrave, carve, delin-
eate, portray ; then to dig. Various
interpretations have been given of
the passage here. Gesenius supposes
it to mean, ' Around the roots of my
feet thou hast digged,' that is, hast
made a trench so that I can get no
farther. But though this suits the
connection, yet it is an improbable
interpretation. It is not the way in
which one would endeavor to secure
a prisoner, to make a ditch over which
he could not leap. Others render it,
" Around the soles of my feet thou
hast drawn lines," i. e. thou hast
made marks how far I may go. Dr.
Good supposes that the whole? descrip-
tion refers to some method of clogging
a wild animal for the purpose of tam-

ing him, and that the expression here
refers to a mark on the hoof of the
animal by which the owner could
designate him. Noyes accords with
Gesenius. The editor of the Picto-
rial Bible supposes that it may refer
to the manner in which the stocks
were made, and that it means that a
seal was affixed to the parts of the
plank of which they were constructed,
when they were joined together. He
adds that the Chinese have a portable
pillory of this kind, and that offend-
ers are obliged to wear it around
their necks for a given period, and
that over the place where it is joined
together a piece of paper is pasted,
that it may not be opened without
detection. RosenmUller supposes
that it means, that Job was confined
within certain prescribed limits, be-
yond which he was not allowed to
go. This restraint he supposes was
efl'ected by binding his feet by a cord
to the stocks, so that he was not al
lowed to go beyond a certain distance
The general sense is clear, that Job
was confined within certain limits, and
was observed with very marked vigi-
lance. But I doubt whether either
of the explanations suggested is the
true one. Probably some custom is
alluded to of which w^e have no
knowledge now — sosne mark that
was affixed to the feet to prevent a
prisoner from escaping without being
detected. What that was, I think,
we do not know. Perhaps Oriental
researches will vet disclose some cus-
tom that will explain it.

28. And he., as a rotten things con-

202

JOB.

sumeth. Noyes renders this, "And
I, like an abandoned thing, shall
waste away." Dr. Good translates
it, " Well may he dissolve as corrup-
tion." Rosenmiiller supposes that
Job refers to himself by the word
i<^n — he, and that having spoken of
himself in the previous verses, he
now changes the mode of speech,
and speaks in the third person. In
illustration of this, he refers to a
passage in Euripides, Alcestcs, vs.
GOO. The Vulgate renders it in the
first person, Qui quasi putredo con-
sumendus sum. The design seems
to be, to represent himself as an ob-
ject not worthy such constant surveil-
lance on the part of God. God set
his mark upon him ; watched him
with a close vigilance and a steady
eye — and yet he was watching one
who was turning fast to corruption,
and who would soon be gone. He
regarded it as unworthy of God to be
so attentive in watching over so
worthless an object. This is closely
connected with the following chapter,
and there should have been no inter-
ruption here. The allusion to him-
self as feeble and decaying, leads him
into the beautiful description in the

following chapter of tne state cf man
in general. The connexion is some
thing like this : — ' I am afflicted and
tried in various ways. My feet are
in the stocks; my way is hedged up.
I am weak, frail, and dying. But so
it is with man universally. My con-
dition is like that of the man at large,
for

" Man, the offspring of a woman,

Is short-lived, and is full of trouble."

*^ As a rotten thing ^i^*^^. The word
3|5'^ means rottenness, or caries ot
bones. Prov. xii. 4. xiv. 30. Hos.
v. 12. Here it means any thing that
is going to decay, and the comparison
is that of man to any thing that is
thus constantly decaying, and that
will soon be wholly gone. TI Con-
sumeth. Or rather decays^ >^\'^'^,. The
word "^^^ is applied to that which
falls away or decays, which is worn
out and waxes old — as a garment.
Deut. viii. 4. Isa. 1. 9. li. 6. ^ As a
garment that is moth-eaten. " As a
garment the moth consumes it." Heb.
On the word moth, and the senti-
ment here expressed, see Notes on
eh. iv. 19.

CHAPTER XIV.

M

AN that is born of a woman,

1 short of. a Ec. 2. 23.

1. Man that is born of a tcoman.
See Notes on ch. xiii. 28. The object
of Job in these verses, is to show the
frailty and feebleness of man. He,
therefore, dwells on many circum-
stances adapted to this, and this is
one of the most stirring and beautiful.
He alludes to the delicacy and feeble-
ness of the female sex, and says that
the offspring of one so frail must
himself be frail; the child of one so
feeble must himself be feeble. Pos-

is ^ of few days, and full " of trou-
ble.

sibly also there may be an allusion
here to the prevailing opinion in the
Oriental world of the inferiority of
the female sex. The following forci-
ble lines by Lord Bacon, express a
similar sentiment.
The world's a bubble, and the life of man

Less than a span,
In his conception wretched, from the womb

So to the tomb.
Curst from the cradle, and brought up to yeara

With cares and fears.
Who then to frail mortality shall trust,
But limus the water, or but writes in dust

CHAPTER XIV.

203

2 He ** Cometh forth like a
flower, and is cut down : he
fleeth also as a shadow, and con-
tinueth not.

a Ps. 90. 5-10.

11 Of few days. Heb. " Brief of
days." Comp. Ps. xc. 10. Gen.
xlvii.9. ^l Jnd full of trouble. Comp.
Notes on cii. iii. 17. Who cannot
bear witness to this ? How expressive
a description is it of life ! And even
too where lite seems most happy ;
where the sun of prosperity seems to
shine on our way, and where bless-
ings like drops of dew seero to de-
scend on us, how true is it still that
life is full of trouble, and that the
way of man is a weary way ! De-
spite all that he can do — all his care,
and skill, and learning, and wealth,
life is a weary pilgrimage, and is bur-
dened with many woes. " Few and
evil have the days of the years of my
pilgrimage been," said the patriarch
Jacob, and they who have advanced
near the same number of years with
him can utter with deep emotion the
same beautiful language. Goethe,
the celebrated German, said of him-
self in advanced age, "They have
called me a child of fortune, nor have
I any wish to complain of the course
of my life. Yet it has been nothing
but labor and sorrow, and I may truly
say that in seventy-five years I have
not had four weeks of true comfort.
It was the constant rolling of a stone
that was always to be lifted anew.
When 1 look back upon my earlier
and middle life, and consider how
few are left of those that were young
with me, I am reminded of a summer
visit to a watering-place. On arriving
one makes the acquaintance of those
who have been already some time
there, and leave the week following.
This loss is painful. Now one be-
comes attached to the second genera-
tion, with which one lives for a time
and becomes intimately connected.
But this also passes away and leaves
us solitary with the third, which ar-
rives shortly before onr own depart-

3 And '' dost thou open thine
eyes upon such an one, and
bringest " me into judgment with
thee?

b P3. 144. 3. c Ps, 143. 2.

ure, and with which we have no de-
sire to have much intercourse." —
Ranch's Psychology, p. 343.

2. He Cometh forth like a flower., and
is cut dozen. Nothing can be mure
obvious and more beautiful than this,
and the image has been employed by
writers in all ages, but nowhere with
more beauty, or with more frequency
than in the Bible. See Isa. xl. 6.
Ps. xxxvii. 2. xc. 6. ciii. 15. Next
to the Bible, it is probable thatShak-
speare has employed the image with
the most exquisite beauty of any poet.
This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honors thick upon him ;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And— when he thinks, good easy man, full

surely
His greatness is a ripening — nips his root,
And then he falls. Henry viii. Act iii. Sc. 2.
IT He fleeth also as a shadow. Another
exquisite figure, and as true as it is
beautiful. So the Psalmist,

My days are like a shadow that declineth.

Ps. cii. 11.
Man is like to vanity ;

His days are as a shadow that passeth away.
Ps. cxliv. 4.
The idea of Job is, that there is no
substance, nothing that is permanent.
A shadow moves on gently and si-
lently, and is soon gone. It leaves
j no trace of its being, and returns no
I more. They who have watched the
i beautiful shadow of a cloud on a land-
' scape, and have seen how rapidly it
passes over meadows and fields of
grain, and rolls up the mountain
side and disappears, will have a vivid
; conception of this figure. How gent-
ly, yet how rapidly it moves. How
soon it is gone. How void of im-
pression is its course. Who can
track its way ; who can leach it .''
So man moves on. Soon he is gone;
he leaves no trace of his being, and
j returns no more.
( 3. Jlnd dost thou open thine ayes

•204

JOB.

4 Who ^ can bring a clean "
thing out of an unclean ? Not
one.

5 Seeing his days are deter-

1 will give. a Ps. 51. 2, 10. Jno. 3. 6.

upon such an one ? Is one so weak,
so frail, so short-lived, worthy the
constant vigilance of the infinite God?
In Zech. xii. 4, the expression 'to
open the eyes' upon one, means to
look angrily upon him. Here it
means, to observe or watch closely.
IT Jlnd hringest me into judgment with
thee. Is it equal or proper that one
so frail and feeble should be called
to a trial with one so mighty as the
infinite God ? Does God seek a trial
with one so much his inferior, and so
unable to stand before him.? This is
language taken from courts of justice,
and the meaning is, that the parties
were wholly unequal, and that it was
unworthy of God to maintain a con-
troversy in this manner with feeble
man. This is a favorite idea witli
Job, that there was no equality be-
tween him and God, and that the
whole controversy was, therefore,
conducted on his part with great disad-
vantage. Comp. Notes ch. ix. 34, 35.
4. JVho can bring a clean thing otit
of an unclean? This is evidently a
proverb or an adage ; but its connex-
ion here is not ytry apparent. Pro-
bably, however, it is designed as a
plea of mitigation for his conscious
trailties and infirmities. He could not
but admit that he had faults. But,
he asks, how could it be expected to
be otherwise ."" He belonged to a race
that was sinful and depraved. Con-
nected with such a race, how could
it be olliervvise than that he should
be prone to evil .? Why then did
God follow liim with so much sever-
ity, and hold him with a grasp so
close and so unrelenting.' Why did
he treat him as if he ought to be ex-
pected to be perfectly pure, or as if it
were reasonable to suppose he would
be otherwise than unholy .'' This
passage is of great value as showing
the early opinion of the world in

mined, the number of bis months

ed '' his
pass.

bounds that he cannot

h ver. 14. He. 9. 27.

regard to the native character of man.
The sentiment was undoubtedly com-
mon— so common as to have passed
into a proverb — that man was a sin-
ner ; and that it could not be expect-
ed that any one of the race shouJd be
pure and holy. The sentiment is as
true as it is obvious — like will
beget like all over the world. The
nature of the lion, the tiger, the hy-
aena, the serpent is propagated, and
so the same thing is true of iiian. l!
is a great law, that the offspring will
resemble the parentage ; and as the
off'spring of the lion is not a lamb but
a young lion ; of a wolf is not a kid
but a young wolf, so the offspring of
man is not an angel, but is a man with
the same nature, the same moral cha-
racter, the same proneness to evil
with the parent. The Chaldee ren
ders this : " Who will give one pure
from a man polluted in sin, except
God, who is one, and who forgiveth
him.'" But this is manifestly a de-
parture from the sense of the passage.
Jerome, however, has adopted nearly
the same translation. As a historical
record, this passage proves that the
doctrine of original sin was early held
in the world. Still it is true that the
same great law prevails, that the off-
spring of woman is a sinner — no mat-
ter where he may be born, or in what
circumstances he may be placed. No
art, no philosophy, no system of reli-
gion can prevent the operation of this
great law under which we live, and
by which we die. Comp. Notes on
Rom. V. 19.

5. Seeing his days are determined.
Since man is so frail, and so short-
lived, let him alone, that he may pass
his little time with some degree of
comfort and then die. See Notes on
ch. vii. 19-21. The word determined
here means fixed^ settled. God has
fixed the number of liis days so that

CHAPTER XIV.

205

6 Turn from him, that he
may ^rest, till he shall accom-
plish, as an hireling, his day.

1 cecLse.

they cannot be exceeded. Conip.
Notes on Isa. x. 22, and Ps. xc. 10.
IT The number of his months are mith
thee. Thou hast the ordering of
them, or th§y are determined by thee.
IT Thou hast appointed his botinds.
Thou hast fixed a limit, or hast deter-
mined the time which lie is to live,
and he cannot go beyond it. There
is no elixir of life that can prolong
our days beyond that period. Soon
we shall come to that outer limit of
life, and then we must die. When
that is we know not, and it is not de-
sirable to know. It is better that it
should be concealed. If we knew
that it was near, it would fill us with
gloom, and deter us from the efforts
and the plans of life altogether. If it
were remote, we should be careless
and secure, and should think there
was time enough yet to prepare to
die. As it is, we know that the pe-
riod is not very far distant ; we know
not but that it may be very near at
hand, and we would be always
ready.

6. Turn from him — "^^STT. Look
away from ; or turn away the eyes.
Isa. xxii. 4. Job had represented the
Lord as looking intently upon him,
and narrowly watching all his ways.
He now asks him that he would look
away and suffer him to be alone, and
to spend the little time he had in
comfort and peace. TT That he inay
rest. ]Marg. Cease. "- Let him be
ceased from" — ^^'^'?.l. The idea is

AT : V :

not that of rest.^ but ic is that of hav-
ing God cease to afflict him ; or, in
other words, leaving him to himself
Job wished the hand of God to be
withdrawn, and prayed that he might
be left to himself. H Till he shall ac-
complish— nit'^'i"'!^, Sept. ivdoy.fiori
xov ^Cov — ' and comfort his life,' or
make his life pleasant. Jerome ren-
ders it, " until his desired day —
15

7 For there is hope of a tree,
if it be cut down, that it will
sprout again, and that the tender
branch thereof will not cease.

optata dies — shall come like that of
an hireling." Dr. Good, " that he
may fill up his day." Noyes, " that
he may enjoy his day." The word
here used (i^^*^) means properly to
delight in, to take pleasure in, to
satisfy, to pay oft; and there can be
no doubt that there was couched un-
der the use of this word the notion
o? enjoyment., or pleasure. Job wished
to be spared, that he might have com-
fort yet in this world. The compa-
rison of himself with a hirelings is
not that he might have comfort lihe
a hireling — for such an image would
not be pertinent or appropriate — but
that his life was like that of an hire-
ling, and he wished to be let alone
until the time was completed. On
this sentiment, see Notes on ch. vii. 1.
7. For there is hope of a tree. This
passage to ver. 12, is one of exquisite
beauty. Its object is to state reascns
why man should be permitted to en-
joy this life. A tree, if cut down,
might spring up again and flourish ;
but not man. He died to rise no
more ; he is cut down and lives not
again. The passage is important as
expressing the prevalent sentiment of
the time in which Job lived about the
future condition of man, and is one
that deserves a close examination.
The great question is, whether Job
believed in the future state, or in the
resurrection of the dead .? On this
question one or two things are clear
at the outset. (].) He did not be-
lieve that man would spring up from
the grave in any sense similar to the
mode in which the sprout or germ of
a tree grows up when the tree is cut
down. (2.) He did not believe in
the doctrine of metempsychosis, or
transmigration of souls ; a doctrine
that was so common among the an-
cients. In this respect the patriarchal
religion stood aloof from the systems
of heathenism, and there is not to

206

JOB.

be found, that I know of, any ex-
pression that would lead us to sup-
pose that they had ever embraced it,
or had even heard of it. The general
sentiment here is, that if a tree is
cut down, it may be expected to
shoot up again, and another tree will
be found in its place — as is the case
with the chestnut, the willow, the
oak. But Job says that there was
nothing like this to happen to man.
There was no root, no germ, no
seminal principle from which he
would be made to live again on the
earth. He was to be finally cut off
from all his pleasures and his friends
here, and to go away to return no
more. Still, that Job believed in his
continued existence beyond the
grave — his existence in the dark
and gloomy world of shades, is appa-
rent from the whole book, and in-
deed from the very passage before us.
See ver. 13— comp. ch. x. 21, 22.
The image here is one that is very
beautiful, and one that is often em-
ployed by poets. Thus Moschus,
in his third Idyl, as translated by
Gisborne :

The meanest herb we trample in the field,
Or in the garden nurture, when its leaf
At winter's touch is blasted, and its place
Forgotten, soon its vernal bud renews,
And from short slumber wakes to life again.
Man wakes no more ! Man, valiant, glorious,

wise.
When death once chills him, sinks in sleep

profound,
A long, unconscious, never-ending sleep.

See also Beattie's Hermit :

'Tis night, and the landscape is lovely no
more ;

I mourn, but ye woodlands, I mourn not for
you ;

For morn is approaching, your charms to re-
store.

Perfumed with fresh fragrance, and glittering
••vith dew.

Nor yet for the ravage of winter I mourn ;

Kind nature the embryo blossom will save ;

But when shall spring visit the mouldering
urn.'

O when shall it dawn on the night of the grave .-'

The same image, also, has been
beautifully employed by Dr. Dwight,
though urged by him as an argument
to prove the doctrine of the resur-
rection :

In thoBe lone, silent realms of night.
Shall peace and hope no more arise ?

No future morning light the torn i.
Nor day-star gild the daikaorae ekiea ?
Shall spring the faded world revive '
Shall waning moons their lignt renew ?
Again shall setting suns ascend.
And chase the darkness from our view?

The feeling of Job here is, that when
man was removed from the earth, he
was removed finally ; that there was
no hope of his revisiting it again, and
that he could not be employed in the
dark abode of departed spirits in the
cheerful and happy manner in which
he might be in this world of light.
This idea is expressed, also, in a most
tender manner by the Psalmist :

Wilt thou show wonders to the dead ?
Shall the dead arise and praise thee .'
Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the

grave .''
Or thy faithfulness in destruction?
Shall thy wonders be known in the dark ?
And thy righteousness in the land of forget-

fulness ? Ps. Ixxxviii. 9-11.

And the same feelings were evinced
by Hezekiah, the pious king of Israel :

For Shcol cannot praise thee ?
Death cannot celebrate thee ;
They that go down into the pit cannot hope

for thy truth.
The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as

I do this day ;
The father to the children shall make known

thy faithfulness.

Isa xxxviii. 18, 19.

All these gloomy and desponding
views arose from the imperfect con-
ception which they had of the future
world. It was to them a world of
dense and gloomy shades — a world
of night — of conscious existence in-
deed— but still ftir away from light,
and from the comforts which men en-
joyed on the earth. We are to re-
member that the revelations then
made were yery few and obscure ;
and we should deem it a matter of
inestimable favor that ice have a bet-
ter hope, and have far more just and
clear views of the employments of
the future world. Yet probably our
views of that world, with all the
light which we have, are much far
ther from the reality than the views
of the patriarchs were from those
which we are permitted to cherish.
Such as they are, however, they are
fitted to elevate and cheer the soul.
We shall not, indeed, live again on

CHAPTER XIV.

207

8 Though the root thereof
wax old in the earth, and the
stock thereof die in the ground ;

9 Yet through the scent of

1 15 weakened, or, cut ofi

tlie earth, but we shall enter a world
of light and glory, compared with
which all that is glorious here shall
fade away. Not far distant is that
blessed world ; and in our trials we
may look to it not with dread, as
Job did to the land of shades, but
with triumph and joy. H JVill not
cease. Will not fail, or be wanting.
It will spring up and live.

8. Though the root thereof wax old.
Tiiough life becomes almost extinct.
The idea is, though the root of the
tree be very old., yet it does not be-
come wholly lifeless. It is not like
an old man, when life goes out alto-
gether. In the very aged root there
\w\\\ be vitality still ; but not so in
man. H Though the stock thereof.
The stump — literally that which is
cut off — i^^TS . The meaning is, that
vv-hen the trunk of the tree is cut
down and dies altogether, life re-
mains in the root ; but when man
falls, life is wholly extinct.

9. Yet, through the scent of icater.
The word here rendered scent iyV^^)
means properly the odor or fragrance
which any thing exhales or emits.
Cant. ii. 13, vii. 14. Gen. xxvii. 27.
The idea is \ery delicate and poetic.
It is designed to denote a gentle and
pleasant contact — not a r?/5/i of water
— by which the tree is made to live.
It inhales, so to speak, the vital influ-
ence from the water — as we are re-
freshed and revived by grateful
odovifics when we are ready to faint.
IF It will hud. Or, rather, it will^er-
minalc, or spring up again — fllSI .
See Notes on Isa. Iv. 10. U And
bring forth boiighs — '^''5£)^ . This
word usual] V means a harvest. Gen.
viii. 22, xxx. 14, xlv. 6. It also
means, as here, a bough, or branch.
Comp. Ps. Ixxx. 12. Job xviii. 16,
xxix. 19. H Like a plant. Like a

water, it will bud, and bring
forth boughs like a plant.

10 But man dieth, and ' wast-
eth away : yea, man giveth up
the ghost, and where is he 1

young plant — as fresh and vigorous
as a plant that is set out.

10. But man dieth, and wasteth
aicaij. Marg. Is weakened, or cut off.
The Hebrew word (^P^^) means to
overthrow, prostrate, discomfit; and
hence to be weak, frail, or waste
away. TheLXX render it, 'Avi]o dh
re).{VTi]oa.c; oj/fto — ma7i dying goes
away. Herder renders it, " his power
is gone." The idea is, he entirely
vanishes. He leaves nothing to
sprout up again. There is no germ ;
no shoot; no living root ; no seminal
principle. Of course, this refers
wholly to his living again on the
earth, and not to the question about
his future existence. That is a dif-
ferent inquiry. The main idea with
Job here is, that when man dies
there is no germinating principle, as
there is in a tree that is cut down.
Of the truth of this there can be no
doubt ; and this comparison of man
with the vegetable world, must have
early occurred to mankind, and hence
led to the inquiry whether he would
not live in a future state. Other
things that are cut down, spring up
again and live. But man is cut down,
and does not spring up again. Will
he not be likely, therefore, to have an
existence in some future state, and to
spring up and flourish there ? " The
Romans," says RosenmiUIer, "made
those trees to be the symbol of death,
which, being cut down, do not live
again, or from whose roots no germs
arise, as the pine and cypress, which
were planted in burial-places, or were
accustomed to be placed at the doors
of the houses of the dead." H Man
giveth up the ghost. Expires, or dies.
This is all that the word (^'^'^^) means.
The notion of giving up the spirit or
the ghost — an idea not improper in
itself — is not found in the Hebrew

208

JOB.

11 As the waters fail from the
sea, and the flood decay eth and
drieth up :

a Ps. 102. 26. Is. 51. 6. 2 Pe. 3. 10, 11.
Re. 20. 11.

word, nor is it in the corresponding
Greek word in tlie New Testament.
Coinp. Acts V. 10.

11. As the tcaters fail from the sea.
As the waters evaporate wholly, and
leave the bottom wholly dry, so it is
with man, who passes entirely away,
and leaves nothing. But to what
fact Job refers here, is not known.

The sea or ocean has never been
dried up so as to furnish a ground for
this comparison. Noyes renders it,
" the lake." Dr. Good, without the
slightest authority, renders it, '^ as
the billows pass away with the tides."
Herder supposes it to mean tliat till
the waters fail from the sea man will
not rise again, but the Hebrew will
not bear this interpretation. Probably
the true interpretation is, that which
makes the word rendered sea (C!^)
refer to a lake, or a stagnant pool.
See Notes on Isa. xi. 15, xix. 5. The
word is applied not unfrequently to a
lake, as to the lake of Genesareth,
Num. xxxiv. 11; to the Dead Sea,
Gen. xiv. 3, Deut. iv. 49, Zech. xiv.
8. It is used, also, to denote the
Nile, Isa. xix. 5, and the Euphrates,
Isa. xxvii. 1. It is also employed to
denote the brazen sea that was made
by Solomon, and placed in front of
the temple. 2 Kings xxv. 13. I see
no reason to doubt, therefore, that it
may be used here to denote the col-
lections of water, which were made
by torrents pouring down from the
mountains, and which would after a
little while wholly evaporate. TI ^nd
the flood decayeth. The river; — '^'i}'^ .
Such an occurrence would be com-
mon in the parched countries of the
East. See Notes on eh. vi. 15, seq.
As such torrents vanish wholly away,
BO it was with man. Every vestige
disappeared. Comp. 2 Sam. xiv. 14.

12. So vian licth down, and riseth
not. He lies down in the grave and

12 So man lieth down, and

riseth not : till the heavens "^ be
no more, they shall not awake
nor be raised out of their sleep.

does not rise again on the earth.
IT Till the heavens be no more. That
is, never; for such is the fair inter-
pretation of the passage, and this ac-
cords with its design. Job means to
say, undoubtedly, that man would
never appear again in the land of the
living; that he would not spring up
from the grave, as a sprout does from
a fallen tree ; and that when he dies,
he goes away from the earth never
to return. Whether he believed in
a future state, or in the future resur-
rection, is another question, and one
that cannot be determined from this
passage. His complaint is, that the
present life is short, and that man
when he has once passed through it
cannot return to enjoy it again, if it
has been unhappy; and he asks,
therefore, why, since it was so short,
man might not be permitted to enjoy
it without molestation. It does not fol-
low from this passage that he believed
tliat the heavens ever tcould be no
more, or would pass away. The hea-
vens are the most permaaent and en-
during objects of which we have any
knowledge, and are therefore used to
denote permanency and eternity. See
Psalm Ixxxix. 36, 37. This verse,
therefore, is simply a solemn declara-
tion of the belief of Job that when
man dies, he dies to live no more on
the earth. Of the truth of this, no
one can doubt — and the truth is as
important and affecting as it is un-
doubted. If man could come back
again, life would be a different thing.
If he could revisit the earth to repair
the evils of a wicked life, to repent
of his errors, to make amends for his
faults, and to make preparation for
a future world, it would be a different
thing to live, and a different thing to
die. But when he travels over the
road of life, he treads a path which is
not to be traversed again. When he
neglects an opportunity to do good,

CHAPTER XIV.

209

13 Oh that thou wouldest hide
me in the grave, that thou would-
est keep me secret, until thy

it cannot be recalled. When he
commits an offence, he cannot come
back to repair the evil. He falls,
and dies, and lives no more. He
enters on other scenes, and is amidst
the retributions of another state. How
important then to secure the passing
moment, and to be prepared to go
hence, to return no more ! The idea
here presented is one that is common
with the poets. Thus Horace says :

Nobis, cum semcl occidit brevis lux,
Nox est perpetua unadormienda.

13. 0 that thou wonldest hide me in
the grave. Comp. Notes on ch. iii. 11,
seq. Heb. in 57*coZ— bit^tUS. Vulg.
in ivferno. Sept. h' adtj — in Hades.
On the meaning of the word Sheol,
see Notes on Isaiah v. 14. It does
not mean here, I think, the grave.
It means the region of departed spir-
its, the place of the dead, where he
wished to be, until the tempest of
the wrath of God should pass by.
lie wished to be shut up in some place
where the fury of that tempest would
not meet him, and where he would
be safe. On the meaning of this pas-
sage, however, there has been con-
siderable variety of opinion among
expositors. Man}^ suppose that the
word here properly means the grave.,
and that Job was willing to wait
there until the v/rath of God should
be spent, and then that he desired to
be brought forih in the general resur-
rection of the dead. So the Chaldee
interprets it of the grave — XFj^i^^f?.
There is evidently a desire on the
part of Job to be hid in some secret
place until the tempest of wrath
should sweep by, and until he
should be safe. There is an expecta-
tion that he would live again at some
future period, and a desire to live
after the present tokens of the wrath
of God should pass by. It is probably
a wish for a safe retreat or a hiding-
place — where he might be secure, as
from a storm. A somewhat similar

wrath be past, that thou wouldest
appoint me a set time, and re-
member me !

expression occurs in Isa. ii. 19, where
it is said that men v.'ould go into
holes and caverns until the storm of
wrath should pass by, or in order to
escape it. But whether Job meant
the grave, or the place of departed
spirits, cannot be determined, and is
not material. In the view of the an-
cients the one was not remote from
the other. The entrance to Sheol
was the grave; and either of them
would furnish the protection sought.
It should be added, that the grave
was with the ancients usually a cave,
or an excavation from the rock, and
such a place might suggest the idea of
a hiding-place from the raging storm,
IT That thou xcouldest appoint me a set
time. AVhen I should be delivered
! or rescued. Herder renders this, "Ap-
j point me then a new term." The
I word rendered " a set time" — pH —
i means, properly, something decreed,
! prescribed, appointed; and here an
I appointed time when God would re-
! member or revisit him. It is the ex-
i pression of his lingering love of life
; He had wished to die. He was borne
I down by heavy trials, and desired a
release. He longed even for the
grave. Comp. ch. iii. 20-22. But
there is the instinctive love of life in
his bosom, and he asks that God
would appoint a time, though ever so
remote, in which he would return to
him, and permit him to live again.
There is the secret hope of some fu-
ture life — though remote; and he is
willing to be hid for any period of
time until the wrath of God should
pass by, if he might live again. Such
is the lingering desire of life in the
bosom of man in the severest trials,
and the darkest hours; and so in-
stinctively does man look on even to
the most remote period with the hope
of life. Nature speaks out in the de-
sires of Job ; and one of the objects
of the poem is to describe the work
ings of nature with reference to a fu-

210

JOB.

14 If a man die, shall " he
live again ? all the days of my

a 1 Th. 4 14-lG. i 1 Co. 15. 51-54.

lure Slate in the severe trials to which
he was subjected. We cannot but re-
mark here, what support and consola-
tion would he have found in the clear
revelation which we have of the fu-
ture world, and what a debt of grati-
tude do we owe to that gospel which
has brought life and immortality to
light!

14. If a man die^ shall he live again ?
This is a sudden transition in the
thought. He had unsconsciously
worked himself up almost to the be-
lief that man might live again even
on the earth. He had asked to be
hid somewhere — even in the grave
— until the wrath of God should be
overpast, and then that God w'ould
remember him, and bring him forth
again to life. Here he checks him-
self It cannot be, he says, that man
will live again on the earth. The
hope is visionary and vain, and I will
endure what is appointed for me,
until some change shall come. The
question here 'shall he live again .'"
is a strong form of expressing nega-
tion. He will not live again on the
earth. Any hope of that kind is,
therefore, vain, and I will wait until
the cliange come — w^hatever that
may be. II All the days of my ap-
pointed time. *!^^^ — my warfare ;
my enlistment ; my hard service. See
Notes on ch. vii. 1. U Will I icait. I
will endure w'\\.\\ patience my trials.
I will not seek to cut short the time
of my service. IT Till my change
come. What this should be, he does
not seem to know. It might be relief
from sufferings, or it might be happi-
ness in some future state. At all
events, this state of things could not
last always, and under his heavy
pressure of wo, he concluded to sit
down and quietly wait for any change.
He was certain of one thing — that life
was to be passed over but once — that
man could not go over the journey
again — that he could not return to

appointed time will I wait, till
my change ' come.

15 Thou shalt call, and I will

the earth and go over his youth or
his age again. Grotius, and after
him Rosenmiiller and Noyes, here
quotes a sentiment similar to this
from Euripides, in Supplicibus, vs
1080, seq.

Qj'^Ot ' Tl Si] ppUTO'ialV OVK £<TTIV ToSSj

NfGDS Sic slvai, Kal yipovTEi av TraXiv ; k.t.X.

The whole passage is thus elegantly
translated by Grotius :

Proh fatii ! cur non est datum mortalibus
Duplici juventa, duplici senio frui .'
Intra penates siquid habet incommode,
Fas seriore corrigi sententia ;
Hoc vita non permittit ; at qui bis foret
Juvenis senexque, siquid erratum foret
Priore, id emendaret in cursu altero.

The thought here expressed cannot
but occur to every reflecting mind.
There is no one who has not felt that
he could correct the errors and follies
of his life, if he were permitted to
live it over again. But there is a
good reason w'hy it should not be so.
What a world w^ould this be if man
knew that he might return and repair
the evils of his course by living it
over again ! How securely in sin
would ho live ! How little would he
be restrained ! How little concerned
to be prepared for the life to come '
God has, therefore, wisely and kindly
put this out of the question ; and
there is scarcely any safeguard of
virtue more firm than this fact. We
may also observe that the feelings
here expressed by Jo'b, are the ap-
propriate expressions of a pious heart.
Man should wait patiently in trial till
his change comes. To the friend of
God those sorrows will be brief. A
change will soon come — the last
change — and a change for the bet-
ter. Beyond that, there shall be no
change ; none will be desirable or
desired. For that time we should
patiently wait, and all the sorrows
whicii may intervene before that
comes, we should patiently bear.

15. Thou shalt call, and I icill an-
stcer thee. This is language taken

CHAPTER XIV

211

answer thee : thou wilt liave a

desire to the work of thine hands.

16 For " now thou numberest

my steps : dost thou not watch

a rr. 5. 21.

from courts of justice. It refers, pro-
bably, not to a future time, but to the
present. ' Call thou now, and I will
respond.' It expresses a desire to
come at once to trial ; to have the
matter adjusted before he should
leave the world. He could not bear
the idea of going out of the world
under the imputations which were
lying on him, and he asked for an
opportunity to vindicate himself be-
fore his Maker. Comp. Notes on
ch. ix. 16. II Thou icilt have a desire
to the icork of thine hands. To me,
one of thy creatures. This should,
with more propriety, be rendered in
the imperative, ' do thou have a de-
sire.' It is the expression of an
earnest wish that God would show
an interest in him as one of his
creatures, and would bring the mat-
ter to a speedy issue. The word here
rendered, ' have a desire' (JTjD^ri),
means literally to be or become pale
(from f]P.3, silver., so called from
its paleness, like the Greek aQyvgoq
from ao/og, white) ; and then the verb
means to pine or long after any thing,
so as to become paie.

16. For noio thou numberest my
steps. Thou dost make strict in-
quiry into all my conduct, that thou
mayest mark my errors, and hold me
bound to punishment. The sense is,
that God treated him now with se-
verity ; and he besought him to have
pity on him, and bring him to trial,
and give him an opportunity to vin-
dicate himself.

17. My transgression is sealed up.
The verb rendered sealed up (DSTiH)
means to seal^ to close, to shut up.
See Notes on Isa. viii. 16. Comp.
Notes on Job ix. 7. It was common
with the ancients to use a seal where
we use a lock. Money was counted
and put into a bag, and a seal was at-

over my sm {

17 My transgression is sealed
up in a bag, and thou sewest up
mine iniquity.

tached to it. Hence a seal might be
put to a bag, as a sort of certificate of
the amount, and to save the necessity
of counting it again. IF In a, hag —
*n"i5i2 . So Jerome, in sacculo. So
the LXX, ^v (ialavTto). The word
"ii"iit means _usually ahundle (1 Sam.
XXV. 29. Cant. i. 13), or any thing
bound up (comp. Job xxvi. 8. Hos
xiii. 12. Ex. xii. 34. Prov. xxvi. 8.
Isa. viii. 16. Gen. xlii. 35. Cant. i.
13. Prov. vii. 20) ; but here it is not
improperly rendered a bag. The
idea is, that they were counted and
numbered like money, and then
sealed up and carefully put away
God had made an accurate estimate
of their number, and he seemed care-
fully to guard and observe them — as
a man does bags of gold — so that
none might be lost. His sins seemed
to have become a sort of valuable
treasure to the Almighty, none of
which he allowed now to escape his
notice. IT And thou sewest up mint
iniquity. Noyes renders this, " and
thou addest unto mine iniquity."
Good, " thou tiest together mine ini-
quity." The word here used (''5^)
means properly to patch; to patch
together; to sew ; to join together as
carpenters do their work ; and then
to devise or forge — as a falsehood ; —
to join a malicious charge to a person.
Thus in Ps. cxix. 69, " The proud
have forged a lie Op."^. ^^i^) against
me," that is, they have joined a lie
to me, or devised this story about me.
So in Job xiii. 4, " Ye are forgers of
lies.'' The word does not occur
elsewhere. The Greeks have a simi-
lar expression in the phrase qoltzthv
fTtrj — whence the word gaipo'doq.
The word here, it seems to me, is
used in the sense of sewing up money
in a bag, as well as sealing it. This
is done when there are large sums, tc

213

JOB,

18 And surely the mountain
falling ^ Cometh to nought, and
the rock is removed out of his
place.

1 fadeth. 2 overjlowest.

avoid the inconvenience of counting
it. The sum is marked on the bag,
and a seal affixed to it to authenticate
it, and it is thus passed from one to
another vvitliout the trouble of count-
ing. If a seal is placed on the bag,
it will circulate for its assigned value,
without being opened for examina-
tion. It is usual now in the East for
a bag to contain five hundred piastres,
and hence such a sum is called "a
purse," and amounts are calculated
by so many " purses." See Harmcr,
ii. 28-5, Chardin, and Pict. Bible in
loc. The sense here is, that God had
carefully numbered his sins, and
marked them, and meant that none
of them should escape. He regard-
ed them as very great. They could
now be referred to in the gross, with-
out the trouble of casting up tlie
amount again. The sins of a man's
past life are summed up and marked
wnth reference to the future judgment.
18. ^nd surely the mountain fall-
ing. Marg. Fadeth. The sense of
this is, that the hope of man in re-
gard to living again, must certainly
fail — as a mountain falls and does not
rise again ; as the rock is removed,
and is not replaced ; or as the waters
wear away the stones, and they dis-
appear. The hope of dying man
V.'as not like the tree that would
spring up again (vs. 7-9) ; it was like
the falling mountain, the wasting
waters (ver. 11), the rock that was
removed. The reference in the
phrase before us is, probably, to a
mountain that settles down and dis-
appears— as is sometimes the case in
violent convulsions of nature. It
does not rise again, but is gone tore-
appear no more. So Job says it was
of man . TT ^nd the rock is removed.
An earthquake shakes it, and re-
moves it from its foundation, and it is
not replaced.

19 The waters wear the
stones : thou ^ washest away the
things which grow out of the
dust of the earth ; and thou de-
stroyest the hope of man.

19. The waters wear the stones
By their constant attrition they weai
away even the hard rocks, and the^
disappear, and return no more. The
sense is, that constant changes are
going on in nature, and man resem-
bles those objects which are removed
to appear no more, and not the pro-
ductions of the vegetable world that
spring up again. It is possible that
there may also be included the idea
here, that the patience, constancy,
firmness, and life of any man must be
worn out by long continued trials, a3
even hard rocks would be worn away
by the constant attrition of waters.
TI Thou xcashest aicay. Marg. Orer-
flozcest. This is literally the mean-
ing of the Hebrew ST^'iJri. But there
is included the sense of \vashing
away by tlie inundation. IT The things
ichich grow out of the dust of the
earth. Herder and Noyes translate
this, " the floods overflow the dust
of the earth," and this accords with
the interpretation of Good andRosen-
mUller. So Castellio renders it, and
so Luther — Tropfen flOssen die Erde
weg. This is probably the true
sense. The Hebrew word rendered
' the things which grow out' (n'lSD),
means properly that which is poured
out — from nS& , to pour out, to spread
out — and is applied to grain pro-
duced spontaneously from kernels of
the former year, without new seed.
Lev. XXV. 5-11. 2 Kings xix. 29. See
Notes on Isa. xxxvii. 30. But here
it probably means a flood — that which
flows out — and which washes away
the earth. IT The dust of the earth.
The earth or the land on the margin
of streams. The sense is, that as a
flood sweeps away the soil, so the
hope of man was destroyed. IT Tfioit
destroyest the hope of man. By death
— for so the connection demands. It

CHAPTER XIV.

213

20 Thou prevailest for ever
against him, and he passeth :
thou changest his countenance,
and sendest him away.

21 His sons come to honour,
and he knovveth if not ; and

is the language of despondency. The
tree would spring up, but man would
die like a removed rock, like land
washed away, like a falling moun-
tain, and would revive no more. If
Job had at times a hope of a future
state, yet that hope seems at times,
also, wholly to fail him, and he sinks
down in utter despondency. At best,
his views of the future world were
dark and obscure. He seems to have
had at no time clear conceptions of
heaven — of the future holiness and
blessedness of the righteous; but he
anticipated, at best, only a residence
in the world of disembodied spirits —
dark, dreary, sad ; — a world to which
the grave was the entrance, and
where the light was as darkness.
With such anticipations, we are not
to wonder that his mind sank into
despondency ; nor are we to be sur-
prised at the expressions which he
so often used, and which seem so in-
consistent with the feelings which a
cliild of God ought to cherish. In
our trials let us imitate his patience,
but not his despondency ; let us copy
his example in his better moments,
and when he was full of confidence
in God, and not his language of com-
plaint, and his unhappy reflections on
the government of the Most High.

20 Thou prevailest for ever against
him. Thou dost always show that
thou art stronger than he is. He
never shows that he is able to con-
tend with God. H And he jJ^isseth.
He cannot stand before thee, but is
vanquished, and passes off the stage
of being. IT Thou changest his coun-
tenance. Possibly the allusion is to
the change produced by death. The
countenance that glowed with health
and was flushed with beauty and hope
— blooming as the rose — is made pale
its the lily under the hand of God.

they are brought low, but he per-
ceiveth it not of them.

22 But his flesh upon him
shall have pain, and his soul
within him shall mourn.

What an afiecting exhibition of the
power of God ! IT And sendest him
aicay. This language seems to be
that of expectation that man would
still live though he was sent away ;
but all his hopes on earth were blast-
ed, and he went away from his
friends and possessions to return no
more.

21. His sons come to honor, and he
knotceth it not. He is unacquainted
with what is passing on the earth.
Even should that occur which is most
gratifying to a parent's heart ; should
his children rise to stations of honor
and influence, he would not be per-
mitted to enjoy the happiness which
every father feels when his sons do
well. This is suggested as one of
the evils of death. TT They are brought
Joto, but he perceiveth it 7wt of them.
He is not permitted to sympathize
with them, or to sustain them in
their trials. This is another of the
evils of death. When his children
need his counsel and advice, he is
not permitted to give it. He is taken
away from his family, and revisits
them no more.

22. But his flesh upon him shall
have pain. Dr. Good renders this,
" his flesh shall drop away from him."
This is evidently a representation of
the state of the man after he was
dead. He would be taken away from
hope and from his friends. His body
would be committed to the grave,
and his spirit would go to the world
of shades. The image in the mind
seems to have been, that his flesh
would suffer. It would be cold and
chill, and would be devoured by
worms. There seems to have been
an impression that the soul would be
conscious of this in its distant and
silent abode, and the description is
given of the grave as if the body

214

JOB.

wrre conscious there, and the turn-
ii!g back to dust were attended with
fii.in. This thought is that which
inakes the grave so gloomy now.
We think of ourselves in its darkness
and chilliness. We insensibly sup-
pose that we shall be conscious there.
And hence we dread so much the
hmely, sad, and gloomy residence in
the tomb. The meaning of the word
rendered "shall have pain" — "5<^ —
is to be sore, to be grieved, afflicted,
sad. It is by the imagination, that
pain is here attributed to the dead
body. But Job was not alone in this.
We all feel the same thing when we
think of death. M And his soui icith-
inhim shall viourn. The soul that is
within him shall be sad ; that is,
in the land of shades. So Virgil,
speaking of the death of Lausus, says,

Turn vita per auras
Concessit mffisto ad manes, corpusque reliquit.

^n. X. 8J9.
The idea of Job is, that it would leave
all the comforts of this life ; it would
be separate from family and friends ;
it would go lonely and sad to the land
of shades and of night. Job dreaded
it. He loved life ; and in the future
world, as it was presented to his

view, there was nothing to charm

and attract. There he expected to
v/ander in darkness and sadness ; and
from that gloomy world he expected
to return no more for ever. Eichhorn,
however, has rendered this verse so
as to give a different signification,
which may perhaps be the true one

K^ur iiber sich ist er betriibt
Nur sich betrauert er.

'His troubles pertain only to himself;
his grief- relates to himself alone.
According to this, the idea is that he
must bear all his sorrows alone, and
for himself He is cut off" from the
living, and is not permitted to share
in tiie joys and sorrows of his posteri-
ty, nor they in his. He has no know-
ledge of any thing that pertains to
them, nor do they participate in his
griefs. What a flood of light and joy
would have been poured on his soul
by the Christian hope, and by the
revelation of the truth that there is
a world of perfect light and joy for
the righteous — in heaven ! And what
thanks do we owe to the Great Author
of our religion — to him who is " the
Resurrection and the Life" — that we
are permitted to look upon the grave
with hearts full of peace and joy '

CHAPTER XV.

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER.

This chapter contains the second speech of Eliphaz, and begins the second series of the
controversy, which continues to the close of ch. xxi. As in the other series of the arguments,
Eliphaz is the first speaker. ??ee an account of his character in the Notes on ch. ii. 11, and on
chs. iv., V. He is the most argumentative, calm, and reasonable of those who maintain the
argument against Job. Hi.s speech here consists of two parts. I. Tlie first extends to ver. 13.
In this he accuses Job of vanity and unprofitable talk (vs. 2, 3) ; reproaches him with having
cast off the fenr of God, and with pursuing a train of argument that was full proof that )ie had
done it (ver. 3) ; says that the positions which he had maintained about the goveinment of
God were ample demonstration of his guilt (vs. .'J, G) ; accuses him of i-.rrogance and self-confi-
dence, for speaking as if he had been the first man tiuit was born, or was made before the hills,
or understood the secret of God (vs. 7, 8) ; says that they had had more ample opportunities
for observation tlian he had, since there were men among them old enough to be his father (vs.
9, 10) ; and asks him why he sutlers himself to give utterance to expressions like these (vs. 11
-13). II. in the second part (vs. 14-35), ho gives a graphic description of the misery which in
various ways will pursue a wicked man. This part is made up, apparently, either of a string
of apothegms, or is a fragment of an ancient poem, which he now quotes as fully sustaining tha

CHAPTER XV.

215

position that the calamities of Job aro proofs of guilt. The argument is, that calamity will
overtake the wicked ; and that, therefore, when calamities exist, there is proof of guilt that
may be measured by the calamity. As Job had been afflicted in an uncommon degree, the
inference in the mind of Eliphaz from this principle was unavoidable, that lie was a man of
uncommon guilt. In illustrating this position, he urges the following considerations : (1.) He
repeats the solemn truth which had been communicated to him in the fearful vision which he
describes in ch. iv., that man could not be puie before God, and that even the angels are
chargeable with folly, vs. 14-16. (2 ) He appeals to the fathers, and professes to quote the senti-
ments of the observing men of former times in proof of what would be the consequences of emi-
nent wickedness, vs. 17-19. (3.) He then states, more particularly, what would be the condition
of the guilty man. He would travail in pain ; he would be subject to alarms ; he would have
no security in prosperity ; he would be compelled to wander abroad for bread, and trouble and
anguish would come upon him, vs. 20-24. (4.) He states as a reason for this, that he makes an
assault on God, and rushes upon his buckler j he impinges on the great principles of the divine
government and law, and he cannot prosper, vs. 25-27. (5.) He then shows that such a man
must be desolate ; he could neither be rich, nor honored, nor long-lived, vs. 27-30. (6.) And
be concludes his discourse by an exhortation not to trust in vanity, and not to rely on the hope
of the hypocrite ; for in the midst of bis confidence and security "he would be cut down before
his time — like unripe fruit, or like a fading flower, vs. 31-35. All this was so applicable to
the circumstances of Job, and was so obviously designed to be a description of his condition,
thoujjh his name is not mentioned, that there is no wonder that he replied with so much seve-
rity m the following chapter. The conclusions of Eliphaz were the more deeply felt Jjy Job,
because they were communicated as the result of long observation, and strengthened by the
undisputed maxims of antiquity.

nPHEN answered EJiphaz the
•^ Temanite, and said,

2 Should a wise man utter
' vain knowledge, and fill his
belly with the east wind ?

1 knowledge of wind.
2 makest void.

a ITi.
3 or, speech

4.5.

2. Should a wise man. Referring to
Job, and to his claims to be esteemed
wise. See ch. xii. 3, xiii. 2, 6. The
argument of Eliphaz here is, that the
sentiments which Job had advanced
were a sufficient refutation of his pre-
tensions to wisdom. A wise man
ivould not be guilty o^ mere talk., or of
asing language that conveyed no
ideas. IT Utter. Literally, answer.
It refers to the replies which Job had
made to the arguments of his friends.
H Vain knoicledge. Marg. Knotc-
ledge of wind. So the Hebrew. See
■;h. vi. 26, vii. 7. The wind is used
to denote what is unsubstantial, vain,
changing. Here it is used as an em-
blem of remarks which were vain,
empty, and irrelevant. TI And fill
his belly. Fill his mind with unsub-
stantial arguments or sentiments —
as little fitted for utility as the east
wind is for food. The image is, ' he
fills himself with mere wind, and then
blows it out under pretence of deliv-
ering the maxims of wisdom.' IT With

3 Should he reason with un-
profitable talk ? " or with speech-
es wherewith he can do no good ?

4 Yea, thou '^ castest off fear,
and restrainest 'prayer before
God.

the east wind. The cast wind was
not only tempestuous and vehement,
but sultry, and destructive to vegeta-
tion. It passed over vast deserts, and
was characterized by great dryness
and heat. It is used here to denote
a manner of discourse that had in it
nothing profitable.

3. Should he reason with unprofita-
ble talk ? It does not become a man
professing to be wise to make use ot
words that are nothing to the purpose.
The sense is, that what Job said
amounted to just nothing.

4, Yea thou castest off fear . Marg,
Makest void. Fear here means the
fear or reverence of God; and the
idea is, that Job had not maintained
a proper veneration or respect for his
Maker in his argument. He liad de-
fended principles and made assertions
which implied great disrespect for the
Deity. If those doctrines were true ;
if he was right in his views about
God, then he was not a being who
could be reverenced. No confidence

216

JOB.

5 For thy mouth

1 tcacheth.

uttereth

could be placed in his government;
no worship of such a being could be
maintained. Eliphaz does not refer
here so much to what was personal
with Job, as to his principles He does
not mean so much to affirm that he
himself had lost all reverence for God,
as that his arguments led to that.
Job had maintained that God did not
in this life reward and punish men
strictly according to their deserts. If
this was so, Eliphaz says, then it
would be impossible to honor him,
and religion and worship would be
at an end. The Hebrew w^ord ren-
dered 'castest off'— more accurately
rendered in the margin ' makest void'
pan) — implies this. IT ^nd restrain-
est prayer before God. Marg. speech.
The Hebrew word (,'^r;"'''^) means
properly meditation — and particularly
meditation about divine things. Ps.
cxix. 97. Then it means devotion —
as to meditate on divine things is a
part of devotion. It may be applied
to any part of devotion, and seems to
be not improperly rendered praxjer.
It is that devotion which finds utter-
ance in the language of prayer. The
word rendered restrainest — ""Iviin —
means to shave o^— like the beard ;
then to cut off, to take away, detract,
withhold ; and the idea here is, that
the views which Job maintained were
such as to sap the very foundations of
Ti Hgion. If God treated the right-
eous and the wicked alike, the one
would have nothing to hope and the
other nothing to fear. There could
be no ground of encouragement to
pray to him. How could the right-
eous pray to him, unless there was
evidence that he was the friend of
virtue.'' How could they hope for his
special blessing, if he were disposed
to treat the good and the bad alike .''
Why was it not just as well to live
in sin as to be holy ^ And how could
such a being be the object of confi-
dence or prayer.? Eliphaz mistook
the meaning of Job, and pressed his

thine iniquity, and thou choosest
the tongue of the crafty.

positions farther than he intended ;
and Job was not entirely able to vin-
dicate his position, or to show how
the consequences stated by Eliphaz
could be avoided. They both icanted
the complete and full vieio of the future
state of retribution revealed in the
gospel., and that would have removed
the ichole difficulty. But I see not
how the considerations here urged
by this ancient sage of the tendency
of Job's doctrine can be avoided, if
it be applied to the views of those
who hold that all men will be saved
at death. If that be the truth, then
who can fail to see that the tendency
must be to make men cast off the fear
of God, and to undermine all devo-
tion and prayer .'* Why should men
pray, if all are to be treated alike at
death .'' How can men worship and
honor a being who will treat the
good and the bad alike ? How can
we have confidence in a being who
makes no distinction in regard to
character.? And what inducement
can there be to be pious, when all
men shall be made as happy as they
can be for ever whether they are pious
or not? We are not to wonder,
therefore, that the system tends every
where to sap the foundations of virtue
and religion ; that it makes no man
better; and that where it prevails, it
banishes religion and prayer from the
world.

5. For thy mouth 7ittereih thine ini-
quity. Marg. teacheth. That is, 'your
whole argument shows that you are
a guilty man. A man who can defend
such positions about God cannot be
a pious man, or have any proper ve-
neration for the Most High.' A man
7nay pursue an argument, and defend
positions, that shall as certainly show
that he is destitute of religion as
though he lived an abandoned life ;
and he who holds opinions that are
dishonorable to God, can no more be
a pious man than if he dishonored
God by violating his law. TI Thou
choosest the tongue of the crafty. In-

CHAPTER XV.

217

6 Thme " own mouth con-
demneth thee, and not I ; yea,
thine own lips testify against
thee.

7 Art thou the first man that

a Lu. 19. 22. b Ps. 19. 2. Pr. 8. 25.

stead of pursuing an argument with
candor and sincerity, you have re-
sorted to miserable sopliisms, such as
cunning disputants use. You have not
showed a disposition to ascertain and
defend the truth, but have relied on
the arts and evasions of the subtle dis-
putant and the rhetorician. His whole
discourse, according to Eliphaz, was
a work of mere art, designed to blind
his hearers; to deceive them with a
favorable opinion of his piety ; and to
give some plausible, but delusive
view of the government of God.

6. Thine oion viouth condemneth
thee. That is, the sentiments which
you have uttered show that you can-
not be a pious man.

7. Art thou the first man that teas
born? Hast thou lived ever since
the creation, and treasured up all the
wisdom of past times, that thou dost
now speak so arrogantly and con-
fidently ? This question was asked,
becaufie, in the estimation of Eliphaz
and his friends, wisdom was supposed
to be connected with long life, and
with an opportunity for extended and
varied observation. See ver. 10.
Job they regarded as comparatively
a young man. IT Wast thou made be-
fore the hills? The mountains and

the hills arc often represented as
being the oldest of created objects,
probably because they are the most
ancient things that appear on earth.
Springs dry up, and waters change
their beds ; cities are built and decay ;
kingdoms rise and fall, and all the
monuments of human skill and art
perish ; but the hills and mountains
remain the same from age to age.
Thus in Psalm xc. 2 :

Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the

world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting thou art

God

was born 1 or wast thou made
before * the hills 1

8 Hast " thou heard the secret
of God 1 and dost thou restrain
wisdom to thyself?

c Ro. 11. 34. 1 Co. 211.

So in Prov. viii. 25, in the description
of wisdom :

Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills was I brought forth.

So the hills are called "everlasting"
(Gen. xlix. 2G), in allusion to their
great antiquity and permanence. And
so we, in common parlance, have a
similar expression when we say of
any thing that ' it is as old as the
hills.' The question which Eliphaz
intends to ask here of Job is, whether
he had lived from the creation, and
had observed every thing .^

8. Hast thou heard the secret of
God? Literally, '■in the secret of
God hast thou heard'— TiOSH . The
word rendered secret (^"1^) means
properly a cotcch, or cushion, on
which one reclines — whether for
sleep or at a table, or as a divan.
Hence it means a divan, or circle of
persons sitting together for familiar
conversation, Jer. vi. 11, xv. 17, or
of judges, counsellors, or advisers
for consultation, as the word divan is
now used in Oriental countries. Ps.
Ixxxix. 8. Jer. xxxiii. 18. Then it
means any consultation, counsel,
familiar intercourse, or intimacy. Ps.
Iv. 15. Prov. XV. 22. Here God is
represented in Oriental language, as
seated in a divan, or council of state :
there is deliberation about the con-
cerns of his government ; important
questions are agitated and decided;
and Eliphaz asks of Job whether he
had been admitted to that council,
and had heard those deliberations;
and whether, if he had not, he was
qualified to pronounce as he had
done, on the plans and purposes of
the Almighty. H ^nd dost thou re-
strain wisdom to thyself? Having
obtained the secret of that council,
art thou now keeping it wholly to

218

JOB.

9 What " knowest thou that
we know not ? what understand-
est thou which is not in us ?

10 With us are both the gray-

a c. 13. 2. b c. 32. C-9.

thyself— as a prime minister might
be supposed to keep the purposes re-
solved on in the divan ? ' Hast thou
listened in the council of Jehovah,
and dost thou now reserve all wis-
dom to thyself?'

9. What knoicest thou that we knotc
not f What pretensions or claims to
wisdom have you which we have
not ? We have had, at le^st, equal
advantages, and may be 'presumed to
know as much as you.

10. With us are both the gray-
headed. That is, some of us who are
here are much older than thy father ;
or we express the sentiments of such
aged men. Job had admitted (ch.
xii. 12), that with the aged was wis-
dom, and in length of days under-
standing ; and Eliphaz here urges
that on that principle he and his
friends had a claim to be heard. It
would seem from this, that Job was
very far from being regarded as an
old man, and would probably be es-
teemed as in middle life. The
Targum (Chaldee) refers this to Eli-
phaz himself and his two friends.
" Truly Eliphaz, who is hoary-
headed (^"'P'^), and Bildad,the long-
lived (^"^^"k"^), are with us, and
Zophar, who is older than thy
father." But it is not certain that he
meant to confine the remark to tijem.
It seems to me probable that this
whole discussion occurred in the
presence of others, and perhaps was
Vi public contest. It is clear, I think,
that Elihu was present, and heard it
all (see ch. xxxii. 4), 2nd it would
accord well with Oriental habits to
suppose that this was a trial of skill,
which many were permitted to wit-
ness, and which was continued for
a considerable time. Eliphaz may,
therefore, have meant to say, that
among his friends who had assem-

headed * and very aged men,
much elder than thy father

II Are the consolations of
God small with thee ? is there
any secret thing with thee ?

bled to hear this debate, there were
not a few who coincided with him in
sentiment, who were much more
aged than Job, and who had had
much longer experience in the world.
11. Are the consolations of God
small icith thee ? The ' consolations
of God' here refer probably to those
considerations which had been sug-
gested by Eliphaz and his friends,
and which he takes to be the ' con-
solations' which God had furnished
for the afflicted. He asks whether
they were regarded by Job as of little
value .'' Whether he was not willing
to take such consolations as God had
provided, and to allow them to sus-
tain him instead of permitting him-
self to inveigh against God .' The
LXX render this, " thou hast been
chastised less than thy sins deserve.
Thou hast spoken with excessive
haughtiness !" But the true idea
seems to be, that Eliphaz regarded
the considerations adduced by him
and his friends as the gracious conso-
lations which God had provided for
men in affliction, and as the results
of all former reflections on the design
of God in sending trial. He now re-
presents Job as regarding them as of
no value, and maintaining sentiments
directly at variance with tliem. IT Is
there any secret thing with thee ?
Noyes renders this, " and words so
full of kindness to thee;" that is,
are they of no account to you .'' So
Dr. Good and Wemyss, " or the
addresses of kindness to thyself.''"
Luther translates it, " but thou
hast, perhaps, yet a secret portion
with thee." Rosenmiiller, "and
words most guilty spoken towards
thee." The LXX render it, " and
thou hast spoken proudly beyond
measure" — fifydXox; v7if(jpaXX6t'Taq
?.iXci,kTjy.aq. The word which occurs
in the Hebrew — ^^^> ^^^f, when it

CHAPTER XV.

219

12 Why doth thine heart car-
ry thee away ? and what do thine
eyes wink at,

13 That thou turnest thy spi-
rit against God, " and lettest

a Mai. 3. 13,

IS a single word, and used as a verb,
means lo wrap around, to muffle, to
cover, to conceal, and then to be secret
— whence the Greek IdOvi, and lav-
&ni'o)i and the Latin lateo. In tliis
sense it is understood here by our
translators. But it may be also a com-
pound word — from t:X — a gentle
sound, murmur, whisper; whence it
is used adverbially — '^'^'i and '^'^ —
gentl}^, softly, slowly — as of the slow
gait of a mourner,! Kings xxi. 27; and
of water gently flowing, as the water
of Siloam, Isa. viii. 6. And hence,
also, rt may refer to tcords flowing
kindly or gently towards any one ;
and this seems to be the meaning
here. Eliphaz asks whether Job
could despise or undervalue the words
spoken so gently and kindly towards
him.'' A singular illustration, to be
sure, of kindness, but still showing
how the friends of Job estimated
their own remarks.

12. Why doth thine heart carry thee
away? Why do you allow your/<^e^-
ings to control you in spite of the
decisions of the understanding.'' Eli-
phaz means to represent him as whol-
ly under the influence of passion,
instead of looking calmly and coolly
at things as they were, and listening
to the results of past experience and
observation. H And lohat do thy eyes
rcink at? This expression has given
considerable perplexity to commenta-
tors. RosenmUller (and after him
Noyes) remarks that the expression
indicates pride, haughtiness, and arro-
gance. In Ps. XXXV. 19, it is an in-
dication of joyfuhiess or triumph over
a prostrate foe :

Let not them that are mine enemies ■wrong-
fully rejoice over me ;

Neither let them wink with the eye that hate
me without a cause.

In Prov. vi. 13, it is an indication of

such words go out of thy mouth 1
14 What * is man, that he
should be clean 1 and he which
is born of a woman, that he
should be righteous 1

b Ps. 14,3. Pr.20.9. Ep.2.3. lJno.1.8. 10.

a haughty, froward, self-confident
person :

A haughty person, a wicked man,
Walketh with a froward mouth ;
He winketh with his eyes.
He speakcth with his feet,
He teachoth with his fingers.

The Hebrew word (^1"^) occurs no
where else, and it is therefore diffi-
cult to determine its true significa-
tion. The most probable meaning is,
to wink with the eyes as a gesture of
pride and insolence. Comp. Notes
on Isa. iii. 16. The Vulgate renders
it, attonitos kahes oculos ? — ' Why, as
though meditating great things, hast
thou eyes of astonishment.'" Sept.
" Why are thine eyes elevated .''"
Schultens renders it, ' Why do thine
eyes roll fury.''' — Quid fremitum vol-
vunt oculi tui? Luther, " Why art
thou so proud.''" There can be no
reasonable doubt that the word con-
veys the idea of pride and haughtiness
manifested in some way by the eyes.

13. That thou turnest thy spirit.
That your mind is turned against God
instead of acquiescing in his dealings.
The views of Job he traces to pride
and to overweening self-confidence,
and perhaps not improperly.

14. What is mati that he should he
clean? The object of Eliphaz in this
is to overturn the positions of Job
that he was righteous, and had been
punished beyond his deserts. He
had before maintained (ch. iv. 7.)
that no one ever perished being in-
nocent, and that the righteous were
not cut off". This was with him a
favorite position ; and indeed the
whole drift of the argument main-
tained by him and his friends was, to
prove that uncommon calamities
were proof of uncommon guilt. Job
had insisted on it that he was a right-
eous man, and had not deserved tho

220

JOB.

15 Behold, he putteth no trust
in his saints ; yea, the heavens "
are not clean in his sight.

16 How much more abomina-

a c.25.5. Z» P3.53.3. c c.20. 12. Pr. 19.28.

calamities which had come upon him
— a position which Eliphaz seems to
have regarded as a!i assertion of in-
nocence. To meet this he now main-
tains that 710 one is righteous ; that all
that are born of women are guilty ;
and in proof of this he goes back to the
oracle which l^.ad made so deep an im-
pression on his mind, and to the de-
claration then made to him that no
one was pure before God. Ch. iv. He
does not repeat it exactly as the ora-
cle was then delivered to him, but
adverts to the substance of it, and
regards it as final and indisputable.
Tiie meaning is, 'What are all the
pretensions of man to purity, when
even the angels are regarded as im-
pure and the heavens unclean ?' ^ He
which is horn of a xcovian. Another
mode of denoting man. No particu-
lar arguvient to maintain the doctrine
of man's depravity is couched in the
fact that he is born of a woman. The
sense is, simply, how can any one of
the human family be pure ?

15. Behold he putteth no trust in his
saints. In ch. iv. 18, it is, "in his
servarits,'' but no doubt the same thing
is intended. The reference is to the
angels., called there servants, and here
saints (p'^'O'lp)^ holy ones. See Notes
on ch. iv. 18. H Yea, the heavens are
not clean in his sight. In ch. iv. 18,
" and his angels he charged with fol-
ly ' The general idea is the same.
God is so holy that all things else
seem to be impure. The very heavens
seem to be unclean when compared
with him. We are not to understand
this as meaning that the heavens are
defiled ; that there is sin and corrup-
tion there, and that they are loath-
some in the sight of God. The ob-
ject is to set forth the exceeding pu-
rity of God, and the greatness of his
holiness. This sentiment seemed to
be a kind of proverb, or a common-

hie and filthy ^ is man, which
drinketh " iniquity like water !

17 1 will shew thee, hear me ;
and that lohich I have seen 1
will declare ;

place in theology among the sages of
Arabia. Thus it occurs in ch. xxv.
.5, in the speech of Bildad, when he
had nothing to say but to repeat the
most common-place moral and theo-
logical adages —

Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not ;
Yea, the stars are not pure in his sight :
How much less man, that is a worm.
And the son of man, which is a worm !

16. Hoic much more abominable and
filthy is 77ia7i. How much more than

the angels, and than the heavens. In
ch. iv. 19, the image is somewhat
different. There it is, how can man
be the object of the divine confidence
since he lives in a house of clay, and
is so frail .'' Here the image is more
striking and forcible. The word ren-
dered filthy C^?^) moans, in Arabic,
to be sour, as milk, and then to be cor-
rupt, in amoral sense. Ps. xiv. 3, liii.
4. Here it means that man is defiled'
and polluted, and this declaration is
a remarkable illustration of the an-
cient belief of the depravity of man.
Tl Which drinketh iniquity like icater !
This is still a true, though a melan-
choly account of man. He loves sin,
and is as greedy of it as a thirsty man
is of water. He practises it as if it
were his very nature — as much so as
it is to drink. Perhaps too there may
be an allusion, as Dr. Good supposes,
to the large draught of water which
the camel makes, implying that man
is exceedingly greedy of iniquity.
Comp. ch. XX. 12, xxxiv. 7. Prov.
xix. 28.

17. I will show thee, &c. The re-
mainder of this chapter is a violent
declamation, designed to overwhelm
Job with the proofs of personal guilt.
Eliphaz professes to urge nothing
which had not been handed down
from his ancestors, and was the result
of careful observation. What he says
is made up of apothegms and maxims

CHAPTER XV.

221

18 Which wise men have told
from their fathers, and have not
hid it ;

19 Unto whom " alone the
earth was given, and no stranger

a De.32.8. h Joel 3. 17.

that were regarded as containing the
results of ancient wisdom, all mean-
ing that God would punish the wick-
ed, or that the wicked would be
treated according to their deserts.
The implied inference all along was,
that Job, who had had so many proofs
of the divine displeasure, must be a
wicked man.

18. Which icise men have told from
their fathers. Which they have re-
ceived from their ancestors and com-
municated to others. Knowledge
among the ancients was communica-
ted chiefly by tradition from father
to son. They had few or no written
records, and hence they embodied
the results of their observation in
brief, sententious maxims, and trans-
mitted tliem from one generation to
another. ^ And have not hid \X. They
have freely communicated the result
of their observations to others.

19. Unto 2ohom alone the earth was
given. The land; the land or country
where tbey dwelt. He refers to the
period before they became inter-
mingled with other nations, and be-
fore they imbibed any sentiments or
opinions from strangers. The mean-
ing is, ' I will give you the result of
the observations of the golden age of
the world, when our fathers dwelt
alone, and it could not be pretended
that they had been corrupted by
foreign philosophy ; and when in
morals and in sentiment they were
pure.' Probably all nations look
back to such times of primeval sim-
plicity, and freedom from corruption,
when the sentiments on morals and
religion were comparatively pure,
and before the people became cor-
rupt by the importation of foreign
opinions. It is a pleasing delusion
to look back to such times — to some
innocent Arcadia, or to a golden age

^ passed among them.

20 The wicked man travaileth
" with pain all his days, and the
number '^ of years is hidden to
the oppressor.

c Ec. 9. 3. d Ps. 90. ig

— but usually all such retrospections
are the mere work of fancy. The
world really grows wiser as it grows
older; and in the progress of society
it is a rare thing when the present is
not more pure and happy than its
early stages. The comforts, privi-
leges and intelligence of the patriarch-
al age were not to be compared with
those which toe enjoy — any more
than the condition of the wandering
Arab is to be preferred to the quiet,
peace, intelligence, and order of a
calm, Christian home. IF J^o stranger
passed amojig them. No foreigner
came to corrupt their sentiments by
an admixture of strange doctrines.
" Eliphaz here speaks like a genuine
Arab, whose pride is in his tongue,
his sword, and his pure blood."
Umhreit. It is possible, as Rosen-
mOller suggests, that Eliphaz means
to insinuate that Job had been cor-
rupted by the sentiments of the
Chaldeans and Sabeans, and had de-
parted from the pure doctrines of
earlier times.

20. Travaileth icith pain. That is,
his sorrows are like the pains of
parturition. Eliphaz means to say
that he is a constant sufi'erer. H All
his daxjs. It seems difficult to see
how they could have ever formed
this universal maxim. It is certainly
not literally true now ; nor was it
ever. But in order to convey the
doctrine that the wicked would be
punished in as pointed and striking a
manner a« possible, it was made to
assume this universal form — meaning
that the life of the wicked would be
miserable. There is some reason to
think that this and what follows to
the close of the chapter, is an an-
cient fragment which Eliphaz re-
hearses as containing the senti-
ments of a purer age of the world.

222

JOB

21 ^ A dreadful sound is " in

his ears : in prosperity '' the de-
stroyer shall come upon him.

1 j3 sound of fears.

IT ^nd the number of years is hidden
to the oppressor. Weinyss renders
this, " and a reckoning of years is
laid up for the violent.' So, also,
Dr. Good. The Vulgate renders it,
" and the number of the years of his
tyranny is uncertain." RosenmtUler,
Cocceius, Drusius, and some others
suppose that there should be under-
stood here and repeated the clause
occurring in the first hemistich, and
that it means, " and in the number
of years which are laid up for the
violent man, he is tortured with pain."
Luther renders it, " and to a tyrant
is the number of his years concealed."
It is difficult to tell what the passage
means. To me, the most probable
interpretation is one which I have
not met with in any of the books
which I have consulted, and which
may be thus expressed, ' the wicked
man will be tormented all his days.
To one who is an oppressor or tyrant,
the number of his years is hidden.
He has no security of life. He can-
not calculate with any certainty on
its continuance. The end is hid. A
righteous man may make sovie calcu-
lation, and can see the probable end
of his days. He may expect to see
an honored old age. But tyrants are
80 often cut down suddenly ; they so
frequently perish by assassination,
and robbers are so often unexpectedly
overcome, that there is no calculation
which can be formed in respect to
the termination of their course. Their
end is hid. They die suddenly and
disappear. This suits the connec-
tion ; and the sentiment is, in the
main, in accordance with facts as
they occur.

2\ . A dreadful sound is in his ears.
Marg. A sound of fears. He hears
sudden, frightful sounds, and is
alarmed. Or, when he thinks him-
self safe, he is suddenly surprised.
The enemy steals upon him, and in
his fancied security he dies. This

22 He believeth not that he
shall return out of darkness, and
he is waited for of the sword.

a Le. 26. 36. h 1 Tli. 5. 3.

sentiment might be illustrated at
almost any length by the mode of
savage warfare in this land, and by
the sudden attacks which the Ameri-
can savage makes, in the silence of
the night, on his unsuspecting foes.
TheChaldee renders this, " the fear
of the terrors in Gehenna are in his
ears ; when the righteous dwell in
peace and eternal life, destruction
comes upon him." H In prosperity
the destroyer shall come upon him.
When he supposes he is safe, and his
afl^airs seem to be prosperous, then
sudden destruction comes. See 1
Thess. V. 3. The history of wicked
men, who have encompassed them-
selves with wealth, and as they sup-
posed with every thing necessary to
happiness, and who have been sud-
denly cut off, would furnish all the
instances which would be necessary
to illustrate this sentiment of Eliphaz.
See an exquisitely beautiful illustra-
tion of it in Ps. xxxvii. 35, 36-

I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a green bay-tree.
Yet he passed away, and lo he was not ;
Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found

So, also, in Ps. Ixxiii. 18-20 :

Surely thou didst set them in slippery places ;

Thou castedst them down into destruction.

How are they brought into desolation as in a
moment !

They are utterly consumed with terrors.

As a dream when one awaketh,

O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shaft des-
pise their image.

22. He believeth not that he shall
return out of darkness. Darkness is
used in the Bible, as elsewhere, to
denote calamity ; and the meaning
here is, that the wicked man has not
confidence {T^^'l K^), that he shall
return safely from impending danger.
He is in constant dread of assassina-
tion, or of some fearful evil. He is
never secure; his mind is never
calm; he lives in constant dread.
This is still an accurate description
of a man with a guilty conscience :

CHAPTER XV.

223

2^ He wandereth abroad for
bread, saying, Where is it 1 he
knoweth that the day of darkness
is ready at his hand.

24 Trouble and anguish shall
make him afraid ; they shall pre-
vail against him, as a king ready
to the battle.

for such a man lives in constant fear,
and never feels any security that he
is safe. *^ And he isioaitedfor of the
sword. That is, he is destined for
the sword. Gescnhis.

23. Heioandereth abroad for bread.
Tiie LXX render this, " he is des-
tined to he food for vultures" —
y.aTarfTay.rai S^ flq oItci yvi^ifr.
The meaning of tlie Hebrew is,
simply, that he will be reduced to
poverty, and will not know where to
obtain a supply for his returning
wants. H He knoweth that the day of
darkness is ready at his hand He
is assured that the period of calamity
is not far remote. It must come.
He has no security that it will not
come immediately. The whole de-
sign of this is to show that there is
no calmness and security for a wicked
man ; that in the midst of apparent
prosperity his soul is in constant
dread.

24. Jls a king ready to the battle.
Fully prepared for a battle ; whom it
would be vain to attempt to resist.
So mighty would be the combined
forces of trouble and anguish against
him, that it would be vain to attempt
to oppose them.

25. For he stretchcth out his hand
against God,. The hand is stretched
out for battle. It wields the spear or
the sword against an enemy. The
idea here is, that the wicked man
makes God an adversary. He does
not contend with his fellow-man,
with fate, v/ith the elements, with
evil angels, but with God. His op-
ponent is an Almighty Being, and he
cannot prevail against him. Comp.
Notes on Isa. xxvii.4. H And strength-
eneth himself. As an army does that

25 For " he stretcheth out his
hand against God, and strength-
eneth himself against * the Al-
mighty.

26 He runneth upon him, evefi
on his neck, upon the thick
bosses of his bucklers :

a Is. 27. 4.

b c. 9. 4.

throws up a rampart, or constructs a
fortification. Tiie whole image here
is taken from the practice of war ;
and the sense is, that a w icked man
is really making war on the Almighty,
and that in that war he must be van-
quished. Comp. ch. ix. 4.

26. He runneth uj)on him. That
is, upon God. The image here is
taken from the mode in which men
rushed into battle. It was with a
violent concussion, and usually with
a shout, that they might intimidate
their foes, and overcome them at first
with the violence of the shock. The
mode of warfare is now changed, and
it is the vaunted excellency of modern
warfare that armies now go delibe-
rately and calmly to put each other
to death. H Even on Jiis neck. Li-
terally, 'with the neck'— "l^^'^'^ •
Vulg. With erect neck — erecto collo.
Sept. Contemptuously, or with pride
— v[)ufi. The idea seems to be, not
that he ran upon the neck of his ad-
versary— as would seem to be implied
in our translation — but that he ran in
a firm, haughty, confident manner j
with a head erect and firm, as the in-
dication of self-confidence, and a de-
termined purpose to overcome his
foe. See Schultens in loc. IT Ujion
the thick bosses. The word boss with
us means a knob — a protuberant or-
nament of silver, brass, or ivory on
a harness or a bridle ; then a protu-
berant part, a prominence, or a
round or swelling body of any kind.
The Hebrew word here used (3S)
means properly any tiling gibbous,
convex, arched ; and hence the back
— as of animals. Applied to a shield,
it means the convex part or the back

J224

27 Because

JOB.

"■ he coveretli his

73. 7, &c.

of it — the part which was presented
to an enemy, and which was made
swelling and strong, called by the
Greeks o/LKpaVoq., or f^tfoof((p<x}.ioy.
Gesenius supposes that the metaphor
here is taken from soldiers, who
joined their shields together, and
thus rushed upon an enemy. This
was one mode of ancient warfare,
when an army or a phalanx united
their shields in front, so that nothing
could penetrate them, or so united
them over their heads when approach-
ing a fortress, that they could safely
march under them as a covering.
This, among the Romans and Greeks,
was commonly practised when ap-
proaching a besieged town. One form
of the tcstudo — the /i).6)'f] oraaTi-
<tjro}i> of the Greeks, was formed by
the soldiers, pressed close together,
and holding their shields over their
heads in such a manner as to form a
compact covering. J. H. Eschenburg,
Manual of Classical Literature, by
N. W. Fiske, pt. III. § 147. The
Vulgate renders this, " and he is
armed with a fat neck" — pingui cer-
vice armatus est. Schultens expresses
the idea that is adopted by Gesenius,
and refers to Arabic customs to show
that shields were thus united in de-
fending an army from a foe, or in
making an attack on them. He says,
also, that it is a common expression
— a proverb — among the Arabs, " he
turns the back of his shield" to de-
note that one is an adversary; and
quotes a passage from Hamasa,
•' When a friend meets me with
base suspicions, I turn to him the
back of my shield — a proverb, whose
origin is derived from the fact, that a
warrior turns the back of liis shield
to his foes." Paxton supposes that
the expression here is taken from
single combat, which early prevailed.
But the idea here is not that which
our translation would seem to con-
vey. It is not that he rushes upon
or against the hard or thick shield of

face with his fatness, and maiketh
col lops of fat on his flanks

the Jihnighty — and that, therefore, he
must meet resistance and be over-
come ; it is that he rushes upon God
WITH his own shield. He puts him
self in the attitude of a warrior. lie
turns the boss of his own shield
against God, and becomes his antago-
nist. He is his enemy. The omis-
sion of the word icitli in the passage
— or the preposition which is in the
Hebrew (3), has led to this erroneous
translation. The passage is often
quoted in a popular manner to denote
that the sinner rushes upon God, ana
'must vieet resistance from his shield,
or be overcome. It should be quoted
only to denote that the sinner places
himself in an attitude of opposition
to God, and is his enemy. 1[ Of his
bticklers. Of his shields (^^S?^),
that is, of the shields which the sin-
ner has ; not the shields of God.
The shield was a well known instru-
ment of war, usually made with a
rim of wood or metal, and covered
with skins, and carried on the left
arm. See Notes on Isa. xxi. 5. The
outer surface was made rounding
from the centre to the edge, and was
smoothly polished, so that darts or
arrows would glide oft" and not pene-
trate.

27. Because he covereth his face with
his fatness. That is, he not only
stretches out his hand against God (v.
25) and rushes upon him as an armed
foe (ver. 26), but he gives himself up
to a life of luxury, gluttony, and licen-
tiousness ; and fAere/bre these calami-
ties must come upon him. This is
designed to be a description of a lux-
urious and licentious person — a man
who is an enemy of God, and' who,
therefore, must incur his displeasure.
^ And mahcth collops of fat. Like
an ox that is fattened. The w^crd
collop properly means ' a small slice
of meat, a piece of flesh ' (Webster) ,
but here it means a thick piece, or a
mass. The word is used in this sense

CHAPTER XV.

225

28 And he dwelleth in deso-
late cities, and in houses which
no man inhabiteth, which are
ready to become heaps.

29 He shall not be rich, nei-
tlier shall his substance continue.

ill New England. The sense is, that
lie becomes excessively fat and gross
— as they usually do who live in sen-
sual indulgence and who forget God.

28. And he dicelleth. Or rather,
' therefore he shall dwell.' As a
consequence of his opposing God,
and devoting himself to a life of sen-
suality and ease, he shall dwell in a
desolate place. Instead of living in
affluence and in a splendid city, he
shall be compelled to take up his
abode in places that have been de-
serted and abandoned. Such places
— like Petra or Babylon now — be-
came the temporary lodgings of cara-
vans and travellers, or the abodes of
outcasts and robbers. The meaning
here is, that the proud and wicked
man shall be ejected from his palace,
and compelled to seek a refuge far
away from the usual haunts of men.
H Which are ready to become heaps.
Which are just ready to tumble into
ruin.

29. He shall not be rich. That is,
he shall not continue rich ; or he
shall not again become rich. He
shall he J} ermanenthj poor. U Neither
shall his substance continue. His
property. IT JYeither shall he prolong
the perfection thereof. Noyes renders
this, "And his possessions shall not be
extended upon the earth." Wemyss,
" Nor shall he be master of his own
desires." Good, " Nor their success
spread abroad in the land." Luther,
Und sein Gluck wird sich nicht aus-
breiten im Lande — ' And his fortune
shall not spread itself abroad in the
land.' Vulg. ' Neither shall he send
his root in the earth' — nee mittet in
terra radicem suam. The LXX, ov
lit] ^ciXrj iTzt r7]V yriv ay.iav — ' and
shall not cast a shadow upon the
earth. The word rendered perfec-

rieither shall he prolong the per-
fection thereof upon the earth.

80 He shall not depart out of
darkness : the flame shall dry up
his branches, and by the breath
of his mouth shall he go away.

tion (^^272) is commonly supposed to
be from ^^ri?^, from J^^S to finish, to
procure , and hence the noun may-
be applied to that which is procured —
and thus may denote possessions. Ac-
cording to this, the correct rendering
is, 'and he does not extend their pos-
sessions abroad in the land ;' that is,
his possessions do not extend abroad.
Gescnius supposes, however, that the
word is a corruption for Q^3^ — their
flocks. I see no objection, however,
to its being regarded as meaning ^05-
sessions — and then the sense is, that
he would fail in that which is so
much the object of ambition with
every avaricious man — that his pos-
sessions should extend through the
land. Comp, Notes on Isa. v. 8.

oO. He shall not depart out of dark-
ness. He shall not escape from ca-
lamity. See ver. 22. He shall not
be able to rise again, but shall be
continually poor. TI The fame shall
dry up his branches. As the fire con-
sumes the green branches of a tree,
so shall punishment do to him. This
comparison is very forcible, and the
idea is, that the man who has been
prospered as a tree shall be consum-
ed— as the fire consumes a tree when
it passes through the branches. The
comparison of a prosperous man with
a tree is very common, and very beau-
tiful. Thus the Psalmist says,

I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a green bay tree.
Ps. xxxvii. 35.
Comp. Ps. xcii. 12, 13. The aged
Skenandoah — a chief of the Oneida
tribe of Indians, said, " I am an aged
hemlock. The winds of an hundred
winters have whistled through my
branches. I am dead at the top.
My branches are falling," &c. IT And
by the breath of his mouth shall he go

826

JOB.

31 Let not him that is deceiv-
ed trust " in vanity ; for vanity
shall be his recompense.

32 It shall be * accomplished

a Is. 59. 4. 1 or, cut off. b Fa. 55. 23.

away. That is, by the breath of the
mouth of God. God is not indeed
specified, but it is not unusual to speak
of liim in this manner. The image
here seems to be that of the destruc-
tion of a man by a burning wind or by
lightning. As a tree is dried up, or
is rent by lightning, or is torn up
from the roots by a tempest sent by the
Deity, so the wicked will be destroyed.

31 . Let not him that is deceived trust
in vanity. The sense is, ' Let him
not trust in vanity. He will be de-
ceived. Vanity will be his recom-
pense.* The idea is, that a man
should not confide in that wliich will
furnish no support. He should not
rely on his wealth and rank ; his
houses and lands ; his servants, his
armies, or his power, if he is wicked,
for all this is vain. He needs some
better reliance, and that can be found
only in a righteous life. The word
vanity here means that which is un-
substantial; which cannot uphold or
sustain ; which will certainly give
way. IT For vanity loill be his recom-
pense. He will find only vanity.
He will be stripped of all his honors
and possessions.

32. It shall he accomplished before
his time. Marg. cut off. The image
here is that of a tree, which had been
suggested in ver. 30. Here it is fol-
lowed up by various illustrations
drawn from the flower, the fruit, <fec.
all of which are designed to denote
the same thing — that a wicked man
will not be permanently prosperous;
he will not live and flourish as he
would if he were righteous. He will
be like a tree that is cut down before
its proper time, or that casts its flowers
and fruits and brings nothing to per-
fection. The phrase here literally
is, 'It shall not be filled up in its
time;' that is, a wicked man will be
cut oflf before he has filled up the

before ^ his time, and his branch
shall not be green.

33 He shall shake off his un-
ripe grape as the vine, and shall
cast off his flower as the olive.

measure of his days, like a tree that
decays and falls before its proper
time. A similar idea occurs in Ps.
Iv. 23. "Bloody and deceitful men
shall not live out half their days."
As a general fact this is all true, and
the observation of the ancient Idu-
means was correct. The temperate
live longer than the intemperate;
the chaste longer than the licentious;
he that controls and governs his pas-
sions longer than he who gives the
reins to them ; and he who leads a
life of honesty and virtue longer than
he who lives for crime. Pure religion
makes a man temperate, sober, chaste,
calm, dispassionate, and equable in
his temper ; saves from broils, con-
tentions, and strifes; subdues the
angry passions, and thus tends to
lengthen out life, "fl His branch shall
not be green. It shall be dried up and
withered away — retaining the image
of a tree.

33. He shall shake off his unripe
grape as the vine. The idea here is,
that the wicked man shall be like a
vine that casts off" its grapes while
they are yet sour and green, and
brings none to perfection. Cpmp.
Notes on Isa. xviii. 5. Scott renders
this,

" As when the vine her half-grown berries

showers,
Or poisoned olive her unfolding flowers."

It would seem from this passage that
the vine might be so blasted by a hot
wind or other cause, as to cast its un-
ripe grapes to the earth. The em-
ployment of a figure of this kind to
illustrate an idea supposes that such
a case was familiar to those who
were addressed. It is well known
that in the East the grape and the
olive might be blasted while in blos-
som, or when the fruit was settings
as all fruit may be. The injury is
I usually done in the flower, or when

CHAPTER XV.

227

34 For the congregation of "
hypocrites shall be desolate, and

a c. -27. 8. Is, 33. 14.

the fruit is just forming. Yet our
observations of the effects of the burn-
ing winds that pass over the deserts
on fruit that is half formed, in blast-
ing it and causing it to fall, are too
limited to allow us to come to any
definite conclusion in regard to such
effects in general. Any one, how-
ever, can see the beauty of this image.
The plans and purposes of wicked
men are immature. Nothing is car-
ried to perfection. They are cut oif,
their plans are blasted, and all the
results of their living are like the sour,
hard, crabbed, and useless fruit that
falls from the tree before it is ripe.
The results of the life of the right-
eous, on the other hand, are like a
tree loaded with ripe and mellow
fruit — their plans are brought to matu-
rity, and resemble the rich and heavy
clusters of grapes, or the abundant
fruits of the olive when ripe. H Jnd
shall cast off his JJower as the olive.
The olive is a well known tree that
abounds in the East. The fruit is
chiefly valuable for the oil which it
produces. Comp. Notes Rom.xi. 17.
The olive is liable to be blasted while
the fruit is setting, or while the tree
is in blossom. In Greece, a north-
east wind often proves destructive to
the olive, and the same may be true of
other places. Dr. Chandler, speaking
of Greece, says, " The olive groves
are now, as anciently, a principal
source of the riches of Athens. The
crops had failed five years success-
ively when we arrived ; the cause
assigned was a northerly wind, called
Greco-tramontane, which destroyed
the flower. The fruit is set in about
a fortnight, when the apprehension
from this unpropitious quarter ceases.
The bloom in the following year was
unhurt, and we had the pleasure of
leaving the Athenians happy in the
prospect of a plentiful harvest." A
wicked man is here elegantly com-
pared with such a tree that casts its
flowers and produces no fruit.

fire shall consume the tabernacles
of * bribery.

b Am. 5. IT, 12.

34. For the congregation of hypo-
crites. The word rendered ' congre-
gation' here ('^'7?) means properly
an appointed meeting ; a meeting
convened by appointment or at stated
times (from '^?'^), and hence an as-
sembly of any kind. It is common-
ly applied to an assembly for public
worship; but il may refer to a more
private company — a family, or circle
of friends, dependents. &c. It refers
here, I suppose, to such a community
that a man can get around him in his
own dwelling — his family, servants,
dependents, &.C. The word rendered
'hypocrites' (^.?^) is in the singular
number, and should be so rendered
here. It does not mean that a wor-
shipping assembly composed of hy-
pocrites would be desolate — which
may be true — but that the community
which a man ivhois a hijpocrite can ga-
ther around him shall be swept away.
His children, his dependents, and his
retinue of servants, shall be -taken
away from him, and he shall be left
to solitude. Probably there was an
allusion here to Job, who had been
stripped in this manner; or at any
rate the remark was one, if it were a
quotation from the ancient sayings of
the Arabians, which Job could not but
regard as applied to himself. IT .^nd
fire shall consume. This has all the
appearance of being a proverb. The
meaning is, that they who received
a bribe would be certainly punished.
M The tabernacles of bribery. The
tents or dwellings of those who re-
ceive bribes, and who therefore are
easily corrupted, and have no solid
principles. There is probably an al-
lusion here to Job; and no doubt
Eliphaz meant to apply this severe
remark to him. Job was a Sheik., an
Emir, a head of a tribe, and, therefore,
a magistrate. See ch. xxix. 7, seq.
Yet a part of his possessions and ser-
vants had been cut off by fire from

228

JOB.

35 They " conceive mischief,

o Hos. 10. 13. Ga. 6. 7, 8. 1 or, iniquity.

heaven (ch. i. 16); and Eliphaz
means probably to imply that it had
been because he had been guilty of
receiving a bribe. This ancient
proverb declared that the dwellings
of the man who could be bribed
would be consumed by fire ; and now
he presumes that the fact that Job
had been visited by the fire of heaven
was full proof that he had been guilty
in this manner. It was about on
principles such as these that the rea-
soning of the friends of Job was con-
ducted.

and bring forth ' vanity, and their
belly prepareth deceit.

35. They conceive mischief. The
meaning of this verse is, that they
form and execute plans of evil. It is
the characteristic of such men that
they form such plans and live to ex-
ecute them, and they must abide the
consequences. All this was evident-
ly meant for Job ; and few things
could be more trying to a man's pa-
tience than to sit and hear those an-
cient apothegms, designed to describe
the wicked, applied so unfeelingly to
himself.

CHAPTER XVI.

ANALYSIS OF CHAPTERS XVI. AND XVII.

Chapters xvi. and xvii. contain the reply of Job to the speech of Eliphaz, and should not
have been separated. This speech of Job is full of the language of complaint and of solemn
appeals to God. It is the language of bitterness and distress, where he felt that he was called
to suffer almost beyond the power of endurance. In his former speech (chs. iv., v.), Eliphaz
had shown some tenderness. He had exhorted him to return to God ; he had assured him that
his favor might be found if he would return. But now he had argued as if it were a settled
point that Job was a wicked man, and as if there were no possibility that he could find favor.
In reply to this, Job in the following speech dwells on the following points. He says that he
had heard many such things, and that they imparted to him no consolation (vs. 2, 3) ; that it
was no difficult matter to speak as they did, and that if they were to change places, he could
u<e similar language, but would not do it ; he would comfort them, and assuage tlieir grief (vs.
4-7). He then goes on with an affecting description of his calamities. God had made him
weary ; he had filled him with wrinkles ; he had torn him in his wrath ; he had delivered hiin
to the ungodly ; he had come upon him when he was at ease ; he had compassed him about ;
and he had rushed upon him like a giant (vs. 8-14). Of this he now makes complaint. He
knew not why it was ; ho felt that he was innocent, and that his prayers had been pure (vs.
15-17). Overcome with deep emotion, he appeals to the earth, and asks that it would not
cover his blood, or suffer him to go unavenged, but that it would disclose his guilt, and pray.?
that his very blood might cry out from the ground, attesting his innocence (ver. 18). He then
expresses the earnest desire that he might plead his cause before God; that as his friends
scorned him, he might have the privilege of presenting his cause to One by whom ho might
hope to have justice done (vs. 19-21). He goes on to say that in a little time it would all bo
over — he would go down to the grave, where he would sleep in peace (ver. 22). In ch. xvii.
he goes on in the language of complaint, especially of the conduct of his friends. There are
mockers, he says, with him (ver. 2). God had hid their heart from understanding, and they
never could be exalted (ver. 4). He was now made a by-word, but the time would come when
upright men would be astonished at the course of things in regard to him ; that God had afflict-
ed him in this manner, and had suffered his friends to rail on him thus, and had not come forth
for his vindication (vs 5-8). He says that it was a great truth that the righteous should hold
on his way, but that among them there was not one wise man (vs. 9, 10). And he closes by
Baying, that in such a series of calamities his only hope was in the grave. There was rest.
He was prepared to embrace corruption as his father, and to say to the worm that it was his
mother and his sister (vs. 11-16).

CHAPTER XVL

229

THEN Job answered and said,
2 I have heard many such
' things : miserable " comforters
are ye all.

3 Shall '^vain words have an
end ? or what emboldeneth thee

1 or, troublesome. a c. 13. 4.

2. Many suck things. That is,
eitner things fitted to provoke and
irritate, or sentiments that are com-
mon-place. There was nothing new
in what they said, and nothing to
the purpose. IF Miserable comforters.
Comp. ch. xiii. 4. They had come pro-
fessedly to condole with him. Now
all that they said was adapted only
to irritate, and to deepen his distress.
He was disappointed ; and he was
deeply wounded and grieved.

3. Shall vain loords? Marg. As
in Heb. words of 7cind ; that is, words
which were devoid of thought —
light, trifling. This is a retort on
Eliphaz. He had charged Job (ch.
XV. 2, 3) with uttering only such
words. Such forms of expression
are common in the East. " His
promise, it is only wind." " Breath,
breath ; all breath." Roberts. U Or
what emboldeneth thee f ♦ What
provokes or irritates thee, that thou
dost answer in this manner.' What
have I said, that has given occasion to
Buch a speech — a speech so severe
and unkind V The Syriac reads
this, " do not afilict me any more
with speeches ; for if you speak any
more, I will not answer you."

4. / also could speak as ye do. In
the same reproachful manner, and
stringing together old proverbs and
maxims as you have. IT If your
soul were in my soul's stead. If you
were in my place. The idea is, that
there is no difficulty in finding argu-
ments to overwhelm the afflicted — a
truth which most persons who have
been unfortunate, have had opportu-
nity to experience. TT / could heap
up words against you. Or, rather, ' I
could string together words against
you.' The idea is not that oi heaping
vp, or accumulating ; it is that of

16

that thou answerest 1

4 I also could speak as ye do :
if your soul were in my soul's
stead, I could heap up words
against you, and shake * mine
head at you.

2 words of wind, c. 15. 2. b Ps. 22. 7.

tying together, or uniting; and re-
fers here to stringing together old
maxims, saws, and proverbs, in the
form of a set argument or discourse.
The idea of Job is, that their dis-
courses were nothing but ancient
proverbs, thrown together, or strung
along without regard to order, perti-
nancy, or force. The Hebrew word
used here ("^5^7 ) ineans to bind, to
bind together, to associate, to be con-
federate. It may be applied to friends
— united in friendship ; to nations —
united in an alliance, «fec. Gesenius
supposes that it means here that he
< would make a league with words
against them ;' but the above seems
to be the more probable interpreta-
tion. The LXX render it, " then I
could insult you — irakovfiat — with
words." Jerome (Vulg.) " I would
console you with words, and move
my head over you." The Chaldee
is as the Hebrew — '^'^'n^_ . Dr. Good
renders it, " against you will I string
together old sayings." H And shake
mine head at you. An action com-
mon to all countries and ages, expres-
sive of contempt, or of threatening.
Comp. Jer. xviii. 16. Lam. ii, 15.
Zeph. ii. 15. Matth. xxvii. 29. So
Lucretius ii. 1163 :
Jamque, caput quassans, grandia subspirat

arator,
Crebius incassum magnum cecidisse labores.

In like manner Virgil, JEn. vii. 292 :
Tum quassans caput, haec efFudit pectore dicta.
So, also, Homer, Odys. f :

Ku'^o-aj 6i icipti TTp6ri Sv ixvOfjo-aTO dvjxSi/.
The meaning of Job here is, that he
could as easily have expressed con-
tempt, reproach, and scorn, as they
did. It required no uncommon talent to
do it, and he felt that he would have
been fully suflScient for the task.

230

JOB.

5 But I would strengthen you
with my mouth, " and the moving
of my lips should assuage your
grief.

6 Though I speak, my grief
is not assuaged ; and though I
forbear, what ^ am I eased ?

a Pr. 27. 9. 1 goeihfrom me 7 b Ep. 5. 27.

5. But I would strengthen you icith
my mouth. With that which pro-
ceeds from the mouth — icords. IT And
the moving of my lips. My speaking
— implying that it would have been
done in a mild, gentle, kind manner
— so that the lips would appear just to
move. Others, however, have given
a different interpretation. Thus Dr.
Good renders it :

" With my own mouth will I overpower j'ou,
Till the quivering of my lips shall fail."

But the common interpretation is to
be preferred. The word rendered
'■^moving" (^'^?), is from ^^3 — to
move, agitate, and hence denotes
motion. It denotes here the motion
of the lips when we speak. Gesenius
renders it, consolation, comfort — be-
cause this is expressed by amotion of
the head. IT Should assuage your
grief. The word here used (Ti'i^n';^)
means properly to hold back, to re-
strain. Job vii.ll. Here it is correctly
rendered, meaning that he would
hold back, or check their sorrows.
In other words, he would sustain
them.

6. Though I speak, my grief is not
assuaged. ' But for me, it makes
now no difference whether I speak
or am silent. My suflerings continue.
If I attempt to vindicate myself be-
fore men, I am reproached ; and
equally so if I am silent. If I main-
tain my cause before God, it avails
me nothing, for my sufferings con-
tinue. If I am silent, and submit
without a murmur, they are the same.
Neither silence, nor argument, nor
entreaty, avail me before God or man.
I am doomed to siiffering.' H What
am I eased ? Marg. Goethfrom me.

7 But now he hath made me
weary : thou hast made desolate
all my company.

8 And thou hast filled me with
' wrinkles, which is a witness
against me ; and my leanness
rising up in me beareth witness
to my face.

Literally, ' what goeth from me V
The sense is, that it all availed
nothing.

7. But now he hath made me weary.
That is, God has exhausted my
strength. This verse introduces a
new description of his sufferings ;
and he begins with a statement of the
woes that God had brought on him.
The first was, that he had taken
away all his strength. II Ml my
company. The word rendered ' cora-
pany' ('^'^?) means properly an as-
sembly that comes together by ap-
pointment, or at stated times; but
here it is evidently used in the sense
of the little community of which
'Job was the head and father. The

sense is, that all his family had been
destroyed.

8. And thou hast filled me with
icrinkles. Noyes renders this, " and
thou hast seized hold of me, which
is a witness against me." Wemyss,
" since thou hast bound me with
chains, witnesses come forward."
Good, " and hast cut off myself from
becoming a witness." Luther, " he
has made me kuntzlich (skilfully,
artificially, cunningly), and bears
witness against me." Jerome, "my
wrinkles bear witness against me."
Sept., " my lie has become a wit-
ness, and is risen up against me."
From this variety of explanations, it
will be seen that this passage is not
of easy and obvious construction.
The Hebrew word which is hero
used and rendered, ' thou hast filled
me with wrinkles' ("^SW^pri), from
t2?3p — qdmdt , occurs only in ono
other place in the Bible. Job xxii.
16. It is there in the Pual form, and

CHAPTER XVI.

231

lendered, " were cut down." Accord-
ing to Gesenius, it means, to lay fast
hold of, to seize with the hands, and

answers to the Arabic r?»V to hind.
The word in Chaldee (p'^p.) means
to wrinkle, or collect in wrinkles;
and is applied to any thing tliat is
contracted^ or rough. Ifis applied in
tlie form li^jlp to the pupil of the
eye as being contracted^ as in the de-
claration in Deree Erez, c. 5, quoted
by Castell. " The world is like the
eye : where the ocean that surrounds
the world is white ; the world itself
is black ; the pupil is Jerusalem,
and the iinage in the pupil is the
sanctuary." Probably the true no-
tion of the word is to be found in the
Arabic Jb.^' • According to Castell,
this means, to tie together the four
feet of a sheep or lamb, in order that
it might be slain; to bind an infant
in swaddling clothes before it is laid
in a cradle ; to collect camels into a
group or herd : and hence the noun is
used to denote a cord or rope twisted
of wool, or of leaves of the palm, or
the bandages by which an infant is
bound. This idea is not in use in
the Hebrew ; but I have no doubt
that this was the original sense of the
word, and that this is one of the
numerous places in Job where light
may be cast upon the meaning of a
word from its use in Arabic- The
Hebrew word may be applied to
the collecting or contraction of the
face in wrinkles by age, but this is
not the sense here. We should ex-
press the idea by ' being draion up
with pain or affliction ; by being
straitened, or compressed.' The
meaning is that of drawing together
— as the feet of a sheep when tied,
or twisting — as a rope ; and the idea
here is, that Job was drawn up, com-
pressed, bound by his afflictions — and
that this was a witness against him.
The word compressed comes as near
to the sense as any one that we have.
IT Which is a zvitness against me.
That is, ' this is an argument against
my innocence. The fact that God

has thus compressed, and fettered^
and fastened me ; that he has bound
me as with a cord — as if I were tied
for the slaughter, is an argument on
which my friends insist, and to which
they appeal, as a proof of my guilt,
I cannot answer it. They refer to it
constantly. It is the burden of their
demonstration, and how can I reply
to it .'" The position of mind here
is, that he could appeal to God for
his uprightness, but these afflictions
stood in the way of his argument for
his innocence with his friends. They
were the usual proofs of God's dis-
pleasure, and he could not well meet
the argument which was drawn from
them in his case, for in all his pro-
testations of innocence there stood
these afflictions — the usual proofs of
God's displeasure against men — as
evidence against him, to which they
triumphantly appealed. TI ^nd my
leanness rising up in me. Dr. Good
renders this, " my calumniator."
Wemyss, " false witnesses." So
Jerome, " falsiloquus." The LXX
render it, " my lie — to xpevdoq finv —
rises up against me." The Hebrew
word (^n?) means properly a lie,
deceit, hypocrisy. But it cannot be
supposed that Job would formally
admit that lie was a liar and a hypo-
crite. This would have been to con-
cede the whole point in dispute. The
word, therefore, it would seem, must
have some other sense. The verb
^n3 is used to denote not only to
lie, but also to waste atcay, to fail.
Ps. cix. 24. " My flesh failcth of fat-
ness." The idea seems to have been,
that a person whose flesh had wasted
away by sickness, as it were, belied
himself; or it was a false testimony
about himself; it did not give a fair
representation of him. That could
be obtained only when he was in
sound health. Thus in Hab. iii.l7,
"the labor of the olive shall fail.'"
Heb. shall lie or deceive; that is, it
shall belie itself, or shall not do justice
to itself; it shall aff"ord no fair repre-
1 sentation of what the olive is fitted
1 to produce. So the word is used in

232

JOB.

9 He teareth " me in l)is wrath,
who hateth me ; he gnasheth
upon me with his teeth ; mine
enemy * sharpeneth his eyes up-
on me.

10 They have gaped upon me

a c. 10. 16, 17. b c. 13. 24. c La. 3. 30

Hos. ix. 2. It is used here in this
sense, as denoting the false appear-
ance of Job — his present aspect —
whicli was no proper representation
of himself: that is, liis emaciated
and ulcerated form. This, he says,
was a ' witness' against him. It was
one of the proofs to which tliey ap-
pealed, and he did not know iiow to
answer it. It was u.«;ually an evidence
of divine displeasure, and he now
solemnly and tenderly addresses God,
and says, that he had furnished this
testimony against him — and he was
overwhelmed.

9. He teareth me iyi his lorath. The
language here is all taken from the
ferocity of wild beasts ; and the idea
is, that his enemy had come upon
him as a lion seizes upon its prey.
RosenmUller, Reiske, and some oth-
ers suppose that this refers to God.
Cocceius refers it to Satan. Schul-
tens, Dr. Good, and some others, to
Eliphaz, as the leading man among
his adversaries. 1 have no doubt
that this is the true reference. The
connection seems to demand this ;
and we ought not to suppose that Job
would charge this upon God, unless
there is the clearest evidence. The
whole passage is a description of the
manner in which Job supposed his
friends had come upon him. He says
they had attacked him like wild
beasts. Yet it must be admitted that
he sometimes attributes these feelings
to God, and says that he came upon
him like a roaring lion. See ch. x
16, ] 7. 1[ JVho hateth me. Or rather,
' and persecutes me, or is become my
adversary,' for so the word here used
(Vjo) means. See Notes on ch. xxx.
21 . H He gnasheth upon me imth his
teeth. As an enraged wild animal does
when about to seize upon its prey. A

with their mouth ; they have
smitten *" me upon the cheek
reproachfully ; they have ' gath-
ered themselves together against
me.

11 God '^ hath ^delivered me

d Ps 35. 15. e c. 1. 15, 17. 1 shutmeup.

similar figure occurs in Otway, in his
* Orphan :'

for my Castalio's false ;

False as the wind, the water, or the weather j
Cruel as tigers o'er their trembling prey :
I feel him in my breast, lie tears my heart.
And at each sigh he drinks the gushing blood.

And SO Homer, when he describes
the wrath of Achilles as he armed
himself to avenge the death of Patro-
clus, mentions among other signs of
wrath his gnashing his teeth :

Tov /.ai 6(]6i'T<jJv ulv Kavayri -rreXe.

II. xix 364.

So Virgil describes his hero as

furens animis, dentibus infrendens.

^n. viii. 228.

H Mi7ie enemy sharpeneth his eyes
uponme. Looks fiercely ; watches me
narrowly — as an animal does his vic-
tim when about to seize upon it.
The image is probably drawn from
the intense gaze of the lion when
about to pounce upon his prey. ' He
darts piercing looks at me ; or Ioo'a:*
at me with a fierce and penetrating
eye.'

10. They have gaped upon me.
Changing the form from the singular
to the plural, and including all his
pretended friends. Such a change in
the number is not uncommon. His
mind seems to have passed from the
particular instance which he was
contemplating, to all his friends, and
he suddenly felt that all had treated
him alike. The meaning is, that,
like wild beasts, they open tiieir
mouth to devour me. IT They have
gathered themselves together. They
have entered into a conspiracy, and
have agreed to oppose me. They
are united in this thing, and all feel
and act alike.

11. God hath delivered me. Marg,

CHAPTER XVI.

233

to the ungodly, and turned me
over into the liands of the wick-
ed.

12 I was at ease, but he hath
broken me asunder ; he hath
also taken me by my neck, and
shaken me to pieces, and set me
"^ up for his mark.

shvt me up. The meaning is, that
God had committed him to their
hands as a prisoner or captive. They
had power over him to do as tliey
pleased. U To the ungodly. Into the
liands of wicked men — meaning un-
doubtedly his professed friends. IF
And turned vie over. The word here
used (from ^tl^) nieans to throw
headlong, to precipitate, to cast down.
Here it means, 'lie lias thrown me
headlong into the hands of the wick-
ed.'

12. / icas at ease. I was in a state
of iiappiness and security. The
word here used ("l?^) means some-
tiines to be at ease in an improper
sense ; that is, to be in a state of
'carnal security,' or living uncon-
cerned in sin (Ezek. xxiii. 42, comp.
Prov. i. 32) ; but here it is used in
the sense of comfort. He had every
thing desirable around him. TI But
he hath broken me asunder. He has
crushed me. II He hath also takeji
me by 7ny neck. Perhaps as an ani-
mal does his prey. We have all seen
dogs seize upon their prey in this
manner. M And set me uj} for his
mark. Changing the figure, and
saying that God had directed his ar-
rows against him. So Jeremiah,
Lam. iii. 12 :

He hath bent his bow,

And set me as a mark for the arrow.

13. His archers. He does not
come alone to shoot at me ; he has
employed acompany of bowmen, who
also direct their arrows against me.
The word here used (^'^) means pro-
perly much., large., great ; and is ap-
plied to that which is powerful or

13 His archers compass me
round about ; he cleaveth my
reins asunder, and doth not
spare ; he poureth out my gall
upon the ground.

14 He breaketh me with
breach upon breach ; * he run-
neth upon me like a giant.

b Vs. 42. 7.

mighty. It is nowhere else used in
the sense of archers., and might be
rendered ' his many f i. e. his bands,
hosts, or armies. But as all the an-
cient versions render it arroios., or
archers, probably that sense is to be
retained. Allusion is here made to
those who claimed to be the friends
of Job, but wlio now showed to his
apprehension that they were merely
sharp-shooters under the control of
God, to deepen his woes. IF He
cleaveth my reins asunder. With liis
arrows. They penetrate quite through
me. '[I He poureth out my gall. The
\K'ordgall means the bile — the yellow-
ish-green bitter fluid secreted in the
liver. A similar figure occurs in
Lam. ii. 11, "My liver is poured up-
on the earth." Among the heathen
poets, also, the liver is represented as
pierced, and as pouring out gore.
TJius ^sch. Agam. 442 : ^lyyavft
Tcooq rjTtao. So also 801 : Jijyua ?.u-
7T)]q ^q' TjTTaQ TTooaiyrfTrat, So in
the Iliad xiii. 412, xx. 469, 470. The
meaning here is, 'I am transfixed
with a deadly wound, and must die.
God has come upon me as an armed
man, and has pierced my vitals.'

14. He breaketh me. He crushes
me. ^JVith breach upon breach. He
renews' and repeats the attack, and
thus completely overwhelms me.
One blow follows another in such
quick succession, that he does not
give me time to recover. 11 He run-
neth upon me like a giant. With
great and irresistible force — as some
strong and mighty warrior whom his
adversary cannot resist. The He-
brew is lis a — a mighty one. Sept.,

234

JOB.

15 I have sewed sackcloth

a c. 30, 19.

' The mighty-^dv 1 a fisroL — run upon
me.' Vulg. gigas — a giant.

15. I have sewed sackcloth. I hare
put on tlie badges of humiliation and
grief. See Notes on Isa. iii, 24. This
was the usual emblem of mourning.
In order more deeply to express it, or
to make it a permanent memorial of
sorrow, it would seem that it was
sewed around the body — as we sevj
crape on the hat. H And defiled vuj
horn in the dust. The word rendered
defiled (from ^^^') has, according to
Gesenius, the notion of repetition,
derived from the use of the Arabic
word. The Arabic means, to drink
again, i. e. after a former draught ;
and then, to drink deep. Hence the
word is applied to^giny action which
is repeated — as to the second blow
by which one already struck down is
killed ; to an after-harvest, or to
gleaning in the fields. Here Gese-
nius supposes it means to maltreat^ to
abuse ; and the idea according to him
is, that he had covered his whole
head in the dust. The word hor7i is
used in the Scriptures to denote
strength and power. The figure is
taken from horned animals, whose
strength resides in their horns; and
hence, as the horn is the means of
defence, the word comes to denote
that on which one relies ; his strength,
honor, dignity. A horn, made of
silver, was also worn as an ornament,
or as an emblem, on the forehead of
females or warriors. It was probably
used at first by warriors as a symbol
of power, authority, or strength; and
the idea was undoubtedly derived
from the fact that the strength of ani-
mals was seen to lie in the horn.
Then it came to be a mere ornament,
and as such is used still in the vicin-
ity of Mount Lebanon. Oriental cus-
toms do not undergo those changes
which are so common in the Western
world, and it is possible that this cus-
tom prevailed in the time of Tob.

upon my skin, and defiled my
horn in the " dust.

The horn was usually worn by fe-
males, but in the cut which I annex,
it is also a part of the ornament on
the head of a male, and as such
would be regarded doubtless as an
emblem of honor. The custom is
prevalent at the present day among
the Druses of Lebanon, the Egyptian
cavalry, and in some parts of Russia
bordering on Persia. Dr. Macmichael,
in his "Journey," says: "One of
the most extraordinary parts of the
attire of their females (Druses of Le-
banon), is a silver horn, sometimes
studded with jewels, worn on the
head in various positions, distinguish-
ing their different conditions. A
married woman has it affixed to the
right side of the head, a widow on
the left, and a virgin is pointed out
by its being placed on the very crown.
Over this silver projection the long
veil is thrown, with which they so
completely conceal their faces as to
rarely have moie than an eye visi-
ble." The horn worn by females is
a conical tube, about twelve inches
long. Col. Light mentions the horn
of the wife of an emir, made of gold,
and studded with precious stones.
The two male figures in the engrav-
ing, represent Abyssinian chiefs with
horns. They are worn by them in
military reviews, or on parade after a
victory. They are much shorter than
those of the females, and are about
the size and shape of a candle-extin-
guisher, fastened by a strong fillet to
the head, which is often made of me-
tal : they are not easily broken off
This peculiar kind of horn is un-
doubtedly the kind made by the false
prophet Zedekiah for Ahab, to whom
he said, when Ahab was about to at-
tack the enemy, " With these shalt
thou push the Syrians, until thou hast
conquered them." 1 Kings xxii. 11.
2 Chron. xviii. 10. Comp.Deut. xxxiii
17. The following cut illustrates its
usual appearance.

CHAPTER XVI. 235

16 My face is foul with weep- | ing, and on my eyelids is the

The idea here is, that whatever once
constituted the reliance or the glory
of Job, was now completely prostrate.
It was as if it were buried in the
earth.

16 My face is foul with loeeping.

Wemyss, " swelled." Noyes, " red."
Good, "tarnished." Luther, "ist
geschwollen" — is swelled. So Je-
rome. The LXX, strangely enough,
7] yaoxriq [xov ovvy.fy.ainai^ x.t.A..
' my belly is burned with weeping.'

236

JOB.

ehadow of death ;

17 Not " for any injustice in
mine hands : also my prayer ^ is
pure.

18 O earth, cover not thou

a Ps. 44. 17-21. ft Ps. 66 18, 19.

The Hebrew word (*>^n!) means to
boil up, to ferment, to foam. Hence
it means to be red, and the word is
often used in this sense in Arabic —
from the idea of becoming heated or
inflamed. Here it probably means
either to be swelled^ as any thing does
that ferments, or to be red as iHieated
— the usual effect of weeping. The
idea of being defiled is not in the
word. IT And on my eyelids is the
shadow of death. On the meaning of
the word rendered ' shadow of death'
sec Notes on ch. iii. 5. The mean-
ing is, that darkness covered his eyes,
and he felt tliat he was about to die.
One of the usual indications of the
approach of death is, that the sight
fails, and every thing seems to be
dark. Hence Homer so often de-
scribes death by the phrase, ' and
darkness covered his eyes ;' or the
form 'a cloud of death covered his
eyes' — &a.vdrov rtq)oq oaoB ixahixprj.
The idea here is, that he experienced
the indications of approaching death.

17. JS'ot for any injustice, Slc. Still
claiming that he does not deserve his
sorrows, and that these calamities
had not come upon him on account
of any enormous sins, as his friends
believed. ^ My prayer is ptire. My
devotion ; my worship of God is not
hypocritical — as my friends maintain.

18. O earth. Passionate appeals
to the earth are not uncommon in the
Scriptures. See Notes on Isa. i. 2.
Such appeals indicate deep emotion,
and are among the most animated
forms of personification. H Cover not
thou my blood. Blood here seems to
denote the wrong done to him. He
compares his situation with that of
one who had been murdered, and
calls on the earth not to conceal the
crime, and prays that his injuries may
not be hidden, or pass unavenged.

my blood, and let my cry have
no place.

19 Also now, behold, my wit-
ness is in heaven, and my record
is ' on high.

1 in the high places. Ep. 1. 3.

Aben Ezra, Dr. Good, and some
others, however, suppose that he re-
fers to blood shed by him, and that
the idea is, that he would have the
earth reveal any blood if he had ever
shed any ; or in other words that it
is a strong protestation of his inno
cence. But the former interpretation
seems to accord best with the con-
nexion. It is the exclamation of deep
feeling. He speaks as a man about
to die, but he says that he would die
as an innocent and a much injured
man, and he passionately prays that
his death may not pass unavenged.
God had crushed him, and his friends
had wronged him, and he now ear-
nestly implores that his character may
yet be vindicated. "According to
the saying of the Arabs, the blood o
one who was unjustly slain remained
upon the earth without sinking into
it until the avenger of blood came
up. It was regarded as a proof of in-
nocence." Eichhorn, in loc. That
there is much of irreverence in all
this must, I think, be conceded. It
is not language for us to imitate.
But it is not more irreverent and un-
becoming than what often occurs,
and it is designed to show what the
human heart 2oill express when it is
allowed to give utterance to its real
feelings. If And let my cry have no
place. Let it not be hid or concealed.
Let there be nothing to hinder rny
cry from ascending to heaven. The
meaning is, that Job wished his sol-
emn protestations of his innocence
to go abroad. He desired that all
might hear him. He called on the
nations and heaven to hear. He ap-
pealed to the universe. He desired
that the earth would not conceal tho
proof of his wrongs, and that his
cry might not be confined or limited
by any bounds, but that it mighr

CHAPTER XVI.

237

20 My friends ' scorn me ;
hut mine eye poureth out tears
unto God.

21 Oh " that one might plead

1 are my scorncrs. a Ro. 9. 20.

2 or, friend.

go abroad so that all worlds might
hear.

19. Mij witness is in heaven. That
is, I can appeal to God for my sin-
cerity. He is my witness; and he
will bear record for me. This is an
evidence of returning confidence in
God — to which Job always returns
even after the most passionate and
irreverent expressions. Such is his
real trust in God, that though he is
betrayed at times into expressions of
impatience and irreverence, yet he is
sure to return to calmer views, and
to show that he lias true confidence
in the Most High. The strength, the
power, and the point of his expressions
of passion and impatience are against
his friends ; but they sometimes termi-
nate on God, as if even he was leagued
with them against him. But he still
had permanent or abiding confi-
dence in God. TI My record is on
high. Marg. in the high places. It
means, in heaven. Luther renders
this, und dor mich kennet, ist in der
Hohe — and he who knows me is on
high. The Hebrew is "^IJ^^ — m.y
witness; properly an eye-witness.
Tlie meaning is, that he could appeal
to God as a witness of his sincerity.

20. Mij friends scorn me. Marg.
are my scorners. That is, his friends
had him in derision and mocked him,
and he could only appeal with tears
to God. H Mine eye poureth out tears
imto God. Despised and mocked by
his friends, he made his appeal to
one who he knew would regard him
with compassion. This shows that
the heart of Job was substantially
right. Notwithstanding all his pas-
sionate exclamations; and notwith-
standing his expressions, when he
was urged on by his sorrov/s to give
vent to improper emotions in relation
to God ; yet he had a firm confidence

for a man with God, as a man
pleadeth for his '^neighbour !

22 When ^a few years are
come, then I shall go ^ the way
whence I shall not return.

3 years of number. b Ec. 12. 5.

in him, and always returned to right
feelings and views. The heart may
sometimes err. The best of men
may sometimes give expression to im-
proper feelings. But they will return
to just views, and will ultimately
evince unwavering confidence in
God.

21. Oh that one might plead for a
man. A more correct rendering of
this would be, ' Oh that it might be for
a man to contend with God ;' that is,
in a judicial controversy. It is the
expression of an earnest desire to
carry his cause at once before God,
and to be permitted to argue it there.
This desire Job had often expressed.
Sec Notes on ch. xiii. 3, 18-22. On
the grammatical construction of the
passage, see RosenmOller. M £s a
man pleadcth/or his neighbor. Heb.
'the son of man;' that is, the off"-
spring of man. Or, rather, as a man
contendeth with his neighbor ; as one
man may carry on a cause with
another. He desired to carry his
cause directly before God, and to be
permitted to argue the case with him,
as one is permitted to maintain an
argument with a man. See Notes on
ch. xiii. 20, 21.

22. When a feio years are come
Marg. years of number ; that is, num-
bered years, or a few years. The
same idea is expressed in ch. vii. 21.
See Notes on that place. The idea
is, that he must soon die. He de-
sired, therefore, before he went down
to the grave, to carry his cause before
God, and to have, as he did not doubt
he should have, the divine attesta-
tion in his favor. Comp. Notes on
ch. xix. 25-27. Now he was over-
whelmed with calamities and re-
proaches, and was about to die in
this condition. He did not wish to
die thus. He wished that the re-

238

JOB.

proaclies might be wiped off, and
that his character might be cleared
up and made fair. He believed as-
suredly that if he could be permitted
to carry his cause directly before God,
he might be able to vindicate his
character, and to obtain the divine
verdict in his favor ; and if he ob-
tained that, he v^as not unwilling to
die. It is the expression of such a

wish as every man has, that his sun
may not go down under a cloud ; that
whatever aspersions may rest on his
character may be wiped away ; and
that his name, if remembered at all
when he is dead, may go untarnished
down to future times, and be such
that his friends may repeat it without
a blush.

CHAPTER XVII.

lyTY 'breath is corrupt, my
-'-*-*- days are extinct, the graves
" are ready for me.

2 Are there not mockers with
me 1 and doth not mine eye

1. My breath is corrupt. Marg. or,
spirit is spent. The idea is, that his
vital powers were nearly extinct ; his
breath failed ; his power was weak-
ened, and he was ready to die. This
is connected with the previous chap-
ter, and should not have been sepa-
rated from it. There was no neces-
sity of making a new- chapter here,
and we have one of those unfortunate
breaks in the middle of a paragraph,
and almost of a sentence, which are
too common in the Scriptures. Ii
TJte graves are ready for me. The
Hebrew is plural, but why so used I
know not. The Vulgate is singular
— sepulchrum. The LXX render it,
"I pray for a tomb (sing. Ta9^^;),but
I cannot obtain it." Possibly the
meaning is, ' 1 am about to be united
to the graves, or to tombs.' Schultens
remarks that the plural form is com-
mon in Arabic poetry, as well as in
poetry in general

2. J37id doth not mine eye continve
in their provocation? Marg. lodge.
This is the meaning of the Hebrew-
word here used — 'i^ri. It jroperly
denotes to pass the night, or to lodge

^ continue in their provocation 1
3 Lay down now, put me in a
surety with thee ; who is he thai
will strike hands with me ?

spirit. IS spent.
2 lodge.

a Ps- 88. 3, 4.
b Pr. 6. 1.

in a place, as distinguished from a

permanent residence. The idea here

seems to be, that his eye rested on

their provocations. It remained fixed

on them. It w^as not a mere glance,

a passing notice, but was such a view

as resulted from a careful observation.

It was not such a view as a traveller

would obtain by passing hastily by,

but it was such as one would obtain

who had encamped for a time, and

had an opportunity of looking around

him with care, and seeing things as

they were. Thus explained, there is

much poetic beauty in the passage

The Vulgate, however, renders it,

i"I have not sinned, and mine eye

; remains in bilterncss." The LXX,

I "I supplicate in distress — y.dfuojr —

! yet what ha\ e I done .'' Strangers

came, and stole my substance : who

is the man .-'" The sin)ple meaning

']B, tiiat Job had a calm view of their

wickedness, and that he could not be

deceived.

I 3. Lay down now. This is evi-

, dently an address to God — a repeti-

I tion of the wish wrtich he had so oflen

1 expressed, that he might be permitted

CHAPTER XVII.

239

4 For thou hast hid their heart

to bring his cause directly before him.
See ch. xiii. 3. The whole passage
here is obscure, because we are in a
great measure ignorant of the ancient
practices in courts of law, and of the
ancient forms of trial. The general
sense seems to be, that Job desires
the Deity to enter into a judicial in-
vestigation, and to give him ti pledge
— or, as we should say, a bond^ or se-
curity— that he would not avail him-
self of his almighty power, but would
place him on an equality in the trial,
and allow him to plead his cause on
equal terms. See Notes on ch. xiii.
20-22. The phrase ' lay down now '
means, lay down a pledge, or some-
thing of that kind ; and may have
referred to some ancient custom of
giving security on going to trial, that
no advantage would be taken, or that
the parties would abide by the decis-
ion in the case. T[ Ptd me in a sure-
ty icith thee. The word used here
(135'!:^) is from S']^, to mix, mingle ;
to exchange, to barter ; and then to
become surety for any one — that is,
to exchange places with him, or to
stand in his place. Gen. xliii. 9,
xliv. 32. Here the idea seems to be,
that Job wished the Deity to give him
some pledge or security that justice
would be done, or that he would not
take advantage of his power and ma-
jesty to overawe him. Or, as has
been remarked, it may refer to some
custom of furnishing security on a
voluntary trial or arbitration, that the
award of the referees would be ob-
served. I think it most probable that
this is the idea. The controversy
here was to be voluntary. In a vol-
untary trial, or an arbitration, there
is a necessity of some security by the
parties that the decision shall be sub-
mitted to — a pledge to each other that
they will abide by it. Such a pledge
Job desired in this case. All this is
language taken from courts, and
should not be pressed too much, nor
should Job be hastily charged with
irreverence. Having once suggested
the idea of a trial of the cause, it was

from understanding : therefore

natural for him to use the language
which was commonly employed in
reference to such trials ; and these
expressions are to be regarded as
thrown in for the sake of keeping, or
verisimilitude If Who is he that will
strike hands icith 7ne ? Striking
hands then, as now, seems to have
been one mode of confirming an
agreement, or ratifying a compact.
The idea here is, ' Who is there that
w^ill be surety to me for thee.''' that
is, for the faithful observance of right
and justice. There is an appearance
of irreverence in this language, but it
arises from carrying out the ideas
pertaining to a form of trial in a
court. In entering into sureties, it
was usual to unite hands. SeeProv,
vi. 1 :

My son. if thou be surety for thy friend,

If thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger.

So ch. xvii. 18 :

A man void of understanding striketh hands,
And liecometli surety in the presence of his
friend.

Comp. Prov. xi. 15, xxii. 26. The
same custom prevailed in the times
of Homer and of Virgil, Thus Ho-
mer (Iliad, /5. 341) says : ^
TVov Jj) ■

And so Virgil (.^neid iv. 597) says :

en dcxtra fidesque.

4. For thou hast hid their heartfront
understanding. That is, the heart of
his professed friends. Job says that
they were blind and perverse, and in-
disposed to render him justice : and he
therefore pleads that he may carry
his cause directly before God. He
attributes their want of understand-
ing to the agency of God in accord-
ancewith the doctrine which prevailed
in early times, and which is so often
expressed in the Scriptures, that God
is the source of light and truth, and
that when men are blinded it is in
accordance with his wise purposes.
See Isa. vi. 9, 10. It is because they
were thus blind and perverse, that

240

JOB.

shalt thou not exalt them.

5 He that speaketh flattery "
to his friends, even the eyes of
his children shall fail.

he asks the privilege of carrying the
cause at once up to God — and who
could blame him for such a desire ?
II Therefore thou shalt not exalt them.
By the honor of deciding a case like
this, or by the reputation of wisdom.
The name of sage or icise man was
among the most valued in those times ;
but Job says that that would not be
awarded to his friends. God would
not exalt or honor men thus devoid
of wisdom.

5. He that speaketh flattery to his
friends. Noyes renders this, " He
that delivei's up his friend as a prey,
the eyes of his children shall fail."
So W emyss, " He who delivers up his
friends to plunder." Dr. Good, " He
that rebuketh his friends with mild-
ness, even the eyes of his children
shall be accomplished." The LXX,
" He announces evil for his por-
tion; his eyes fail over his sons."
The Vulg. " He promises spoil to
his companions, and the eyes of his
sons fail." The word rendered " flat-
tery " (Pr.D) properly means that
which is smooth, smoothness (from
P?n to be smooth) ; and thence it
denotes a lot or portion, because a
smooth stone was anciently used to
cast lots in dividing spoils. Deut.
xviii. 8-. Here it is synonymous with
plunder or spoil ; and the idea is,
that he who betrayeth his friends to
the spoil or to the spoiler, the eyes of
his children shall fail. The mean-
ing in this connexion is, that the
friends of Job had acted as one would
who should announce the residence
of his neighbors to robbers that they
might come and plunder them. In-
stead of defending him, they had
acted the part of a traitor. Schultens
says that this verse is " a Gordian
knot;" and most commentators re-
gard it as such, but the above seems
to give a clear and consistent mean-
ing. It is evidently a proverb, and

6 He hath made me also a
by-word of the peopie, and
' aforetime I was as a tabret.

a Ps. 12. 3. 1 or, before them.

is designed to bear on the professed
friends of Job, and to show that they
bad acted a fraudulent part towards
him. In ver. 4, he had said that God
had hid their heart from understand-
ing, and that wisdom had failed them.
He here says that in addition to a
want of wisdom, they were like a
man who should betray his neighbors
to robbers. H Even the eyes of his
children shall fail. He shall be pun-
ished. To do this is a crime, and great
calamity shall come upon him, repre-
sented by the failure of the eyes of
his children. Calamity is not unfre-
quently expressed by the loss of the
eyes. See Prov. xxx. 17.

6. He hath also. That is, God has
done this. *T Also a hy-icord. A
proverb {'■'^.^) ; a term of reproach,
ridicule, or scorn. He has exposed
me to derision. 1[ And aforetime.
Marg. before them. The margin is
the correct translation of the Hebrew,
C^SB^. It means, in their presence,
or in their view. ^ / icas as a tabret.
This is an unhappy translation. The
true meaning is, ' I am become their
abhorrence, or am to them an object
of contempt.' Vulg. " I am an exam-
ple (exemplum) to them." Sept. "1
am become a laughter (yf).ojq) to
them." The Chaldee renders it,
" Thou hast placed me for a proverb
to the people, and I shall be Gehenna
(DSiI^)) to them. The Hebrew word
r^Sri — thopheth, or Tophet, is the name
which is often given in the Scriptures
to the valley of Hinnom — the place
where children were sacrificed to
Moloch. See Notes on Matth. v. 22.
But there is no evidence or proba-
bility that the word was so used in
the time of Job. It is never used in
the Scriptures in the sense of a ta-
bret, that is, a tabor or small drum ;
though the word t|Pl — toph is thus
used. See Notes onlsa.v. 12. TUq

CHAPTER XVII.

241

7 Mine eye also is dim by
reason of sorrow, and all my
' members are as a shadow.

8 Upright men shall be asto-

1 or, thouirhts.

word here used is derived, probably,
fVom the obsolete verb Jj^lH — to spit
out; and then to spit out with con-
tempt. The verbis so used in Chuldee.
Castell. The meaning of the word
probably still lives in the Arabic.

The Arabic word \„^sJij means to spit
out with contempt; and the various
forms of the nouns derived from the
verb are applied to any thing detested,
or detestable; to the parings of the
nails ; to an abandoned woman ; to a
dog, &c. See Castell on this word.
I have no doubt that is the sense here,
and that we have here a word whose
true signification is to be sought in
the Arabic ; and that Job means to
say that he was treated as the most
loathsome and execrable object.

7. Mine eye is dim hy reason of
sorrow. Schultens supposes that this
refers to his external appearance in
general, as being worn down, ex-
hausted, defaced by his many troubles;
but it seems rather to mean that his
eyes failed on account of weeping. H
And all my mevihers are as a shadow.
' I am a mere skeleton , I am ex-
hausted and emaciated by my suffer-
ings.' It is common to speak of
persons who are emaciated by sick-
ness or famine as mere shadows.
Thus Livy (L. xxi. 40) says. Effi-
gies, imo, umhrcz hominum; fame,
fiigore, illuvie, squalore enecti, con-
tusi, debilitati inter saxa rupesque.
So ^schylus calls CEdipus — OldiTiov
yy.iav — the shadoic of (Edipus

8. Upright men shall he astonished
at this. At the course of events in
regard to me. They will be amazed
that God has suffered a holy man to
be plunged into such calamities, and
to be treated in this manner by his
friends. The fact at which he sup-
poses they would be so much aston-
ished was, that the good were afflicted

nied at this, and the innocent
shall stir up himself against the
hypocrite.

9 The righteous " also shall

a Ps. 84. 7. 11. Pr. 14. 16.

in this manner, and that no relief
was furnished. IT Jind the innocent
shall stir up himself Shall rouse
himself, or assume vigor to resist the
wicked. ^ The hypocrite. The wick-
ed— alluding probably to his professed
friends. The idea of hypocrisy which
the sentence conveys, arises from the
fact, that they professed to be his
friends, and had proved to be false ;
and that they had professed to be the
friends of God, and yet liad uttered
sentiments inconsistent with any right
views of him. He now says, that that
could not go unnoticed. The world
would be aroused at so remarkable a
state of things, and a just public in-
dignation would be the result.

9. The righteous also shall hold on
his loay. The meaning of this verse
is plain ; but the connexion is not so
apparent. It seems to me that it re-
fers to Job himself and is a declara-
tion that he, a righteous man, who
had been so grievously calumniated,
would hold on his way, and become
stronger and stronger, while they,
would sink in the public esteem, and
be compelled to abandon their posi-
tion. It is the expression of a confi-
dent assurance that he would be more
and more confirmed in liis integrity,
and would become stronger and
stronger in God. Though Job in-
tended, probably, that this should be
applied to himself, yet he has ex-
pressed it in a general manner, and
indeed the whole passage has a pro-
verbial cast ; and it shows that even
then it was the settled belief that the
righteous would persevere. As an
expression of the early faith of the
pious in one of the now settled doc-
trines of Christianity, "the persever-
ance of the saints," this doctrine is
invaluable. It shows that that doc-
trine has travelled down from the
earliest ages. It was one of the ele

242

JOB.

hold on his way, and he that 1 return, and come now for I
hath clean "hands shall be strong- I cannot find one wise man among

er and ' stronger.

10 But as for you all, do you

a Ps. 14. 16.

mentary doctrines of religion in the
earliest times. It became a proverb ;
and was admitted among the undis-
puted maxims of the wise and good,
and it was such a sentiment as was
just adapted to the circumstances of
Job — a much tried and persecuted
man. He was in all the danger of
apostacy to which the pious are usual-
ly exposed ; he was tempted to for-
sake his confidence in God ; he was
afflicted for reasons which he could
not comprehend; he was without an
earthly friend to sustain him, and he
seemed to be forsaken by God him-
self; yet he had the fullest conviction
that he would be enabled to perse-
vere. The great principle was set-
tled, that if there was true religion in
the heart, it would abide ; that if the
path of righteousness had been en-
tered, he who trod it would keep on
nis way. IT And he that hath dean
hands. The innocent ; the friend of
God; the man of pure life. See
Notes ch. ix. 30. Comp. Ps. xxiv. 4.
' Clean hands' here, are designed to
denote a pure and holy life. Among
the ar}cients they were regarded as
indicative of purity of heart. Por-
phyry remarks (de antro Nympha-
rum) that in the 'mysteries,' those
who were initiated were accustomed
to wash their hands with honey in-
stead of water, as a pledge that they
would preserve themselves from
every impure and unholy thing. See
Burder, in Rosenmfiller's Alte u.
neue Morgenland, in loc. TI Shall
he stronger and stronger. Marg. as
in Heb. add strength. He shall ad-
vance in the strength of his attach-
ment to God. Tills is true. The man of
pure and blameless life shall become
more and more established in virtue ;
more confirmed in his principles;
more convinced of the value and the
truth of religion. Piety, like every
thing else, becomes stronger by ex-

you.

11 My days are past, my pur-

1 add strenuth

ercise. The man who speaks truth
only, becomes more and more at-
tached to truth ; the principle ot
benevolence is strengthened by being
practised ; honesty, the more it is
exhibited, becomes more the settled
rule of the life ; and he who prays,
delights more and more in his ap-
proaches to God. The tendency of
religion in the heart is to grow
stronger and stronger; and God in-
tends that he who has once loved
him, shall continue to love him for
ever.

10. But as for you all., do you re-
turn? This may mean, either, 're-
turn to the debate ;' or, ' return from
your unjust and uncharitable opinion
concerning me.' The former seems
to accord best with the scope of the
passage. Tindal renders it, " Get
you hence." Dr. Good, "Get ye
hence, and begone, I pray." Wemyss,
*' Repeat your discourses as often as
you may, I do not find a wise man
among you." It is doubtful, how-
ever, whether the Hebrew will bear
this construction. IT For I cannot

find one wise man among you. Per-
haps the idea here is, ' I have not yet
found one wise man among you, and
you are invited, therefore, to renew
the argument. Hitherto you have
said nothing that indicates wisdom.
Try again, and see if you can say
any thing now that shall deserve at-
tention.' If this is the meaning, it
shows that Job was willing to hear
all that they had to say, and to give
them credit for wisdom, if they ever
evinced any.

11. My days are past. ' I am about
to die.' Job relapses again into sad-
ness— as he often does. A sense of
his miserable condition comes over
him like a cloud, and he feels that he
must die. 11 My purposes are broken
off. All ni}' plans fail, and my
schemes of life coms to an end. No

CHAPTER XVII.

243

poses " are broken off, even the
^ thoughts of my heart.

12 They change the night into
day : the light is ^ short because

a Pr. 16. 9. 19. 21. 1 possessions.

matter what they could say now, it
was all over with him, and he must
die. Comp. Isa. xxxviii. 12 :

" My habitation is takea away, and is removed

from me like a shepherd's tentj
My life is cut off as by a weaver
Who sevoreth the web from the loom ;
Between the morning and the night tfiou wilt
make an end of me."

TT Even the thoughts of my heai-t.
Marg. possessions. Noyes, " trea-
sures.'' Dr. Good, ^'^ resolves.'' Dr.
Slock, ^'thc tenants of my heart.''
Vulg , '■'■ torqucnles cormeum." Sept.,
ret and-ija rf^q y.andtaq fiov — the
strings of my heart. The Hebrew
word (^'li^) means properly pos-
session ^^roxn ^"^^ , to inherit); and
the word here means the dear pos-
sessions of his heart ; his cherished
plans and schemes ; the delights of
his soul — the purposes which he had
hoped to accomplish. All these were
now to be broken off by death. This
is to man one of the most trying things
in death. All his plans must be ar-
rested. His projects of ambition
and gain, of pleasure and of fame,
of professional eminence and of learn-
ing, all are arrested midway. The
farmer is compelled to leave his
plough in the furrow; the mechanic,
his work unfinished ; the lawyer, his
brief half prepared ; the student, his
books lying open ; the man who is
building a palace, leaves it incom-
plete ; and ho who is seeking a crown,
is taken away when it seemed just
within his grasp. How many un-
finished plans are caused by death
every day ! How many unfinished
books, sermons, houses, does it make !
How many schemes of wickedness
and of benevolence, of fraud and
of kindness, of gain and of mercy,
are daily broken in upon by death !
Soon, reader, all your plans and mine
will be ended — mine, perhaps, before

of darkness.

13 If I wait, the grave is mine
house : I have made my bed in
the darkness.

these lines meet your eye; yours
soon afterwards. God grant that our
purposes of life may be such that we
shall be zcilling to have them broken
in upon — all so subordinate to the
GRKAT PLAN of being prepared for
heaven, that we may cheerfully sur-
render them at any moment, at the
call of the Master summoning us
into his awful presence !

12. They change. The word ' they'
in this place, some understand as re-
ferring to his friends ; others, to his
thoughts. Rosenmiiller supposes it
is to be taken impersonally, and that
the meaning is, " night is become day
to me." Wemyss translates it, " night
is assigned me for day." So Dr.
Good renders it. The meaning may
be, that tlie night was to him as the
day. He had no rest. The period
when he had formerly sought repose,
was now made like the day, and all
was alike gloom and sadness. IT The
light is short because of darkness.
Marg. near. The meaning is, proba-
bly, ' even the day has lost its usual
brilliancy and cheerfulness, and has
become gloomy and sad. It seems to
be like night. Neither night nor day
are natural to me ; the one is restless
and full of cares like the usual em-
ployments of day, and the other is
gloomy, or almost night, where there
is no comfort and peace. Day brings
to me none of its usual enjoyments.
It is short, gloomy, sad, and hastens
away, and a distressing and restless
night soon comes on.'

13. If I IV ait. Or more accurately,
' truly I expect that the grave will be
my home.' The word rendered ' if
(D5<) is often used in such a sense.
The meaning is, ' I look certainly to
the grave as my home. I have made
up my mind to it, and have no other
expectation.' TF The grave. Heb.
^'i!!^''^. It may mean here either the

244

JOB

14 I have ' said to corruption,
Thou art my father : to the

1 wicrf, or, called.

grave, or tlie region of dep.-irted
spirits, to w'licli lie expected soon to
descend. 11 Mine house. My home ;
my permanent abode. U / have made
imj bed. I am certain of making my
bed there. I sliall soon lie down
there. IT In the darkness. In the
grave, or in the dark world to which
it leads. See Notes on eh. x. 21, 22.
14. / have said. Marg. Cried^ or
called. The sense is, ' I say,' or ' I
thus address the grave.' IT To cor.
ruption. The word here used (rH;:;)
means properly a pit, or pit-fall, Ps-
vii. 16, ix. 16; a cistern, or a ditch,
Job. ix. 31 ; or the scpnlchre, or grave,
Ps. XXX. 10, Job xxxiii. 18, 30. The
LXX render it here by x9ardTn) —
death. Jerome (Vulg.), putredini
dixi. According to Gcsenius (Lex.),
the word never has the sense of cor-
ruption. Schultens, however, Rosen-
miiller, and others, understand it in
the sense of corruption or putrefac-
tion. This accords, certainly, with
the other hemistich, and better con-
stitutes a parallelism with the ' worm'
than the word '■grave' would. It
seems probable that this is the sense
here ; and if the proper meaning of
the word is a pit, or the grave, it here
denotes the grave, as containing a
dead and mouldering body. IT Thou
art my father. ' I am nearly allied to
it. I sustain to it a relation like that
of a child to a father.' The idea
seems to be that of famibj likeness ;
and the object is to present the most
striking and impressive view of his
sad and sorrowful condition. He
was so diseased, so wretched, so full
of sores and of corruption (see ch.
vii. 5), that he migiit be said to be
the child of one mouldering in the
grave, and was kindred to a tamily in
tbe tomb ! IT To the worm. The
worm that feeds upon the dead. He
belonged to that sad family where the
body was putrifying, and where it was
covered with worms. See Notes on

worm, Thou art niy mother and
my sister.

Isa. xiv. 11. IT Mij mother. I am so
nearly allied to the worms, that the
connection may be compared to that
between^a mother and her son. IT And
my sister. " The sister here is men-
tioned rather than the brother, be-
cause the noun rendered worm in the
Hebrew, is in the feminine gender."
Rosenmiiller. The sense of the whole
is, that Job felt that he belonged to
the grave. He was destined to cor-
ruption. He was soon to lie down
with the dead. His acquaintance and
kindred were there. So corrupt was
his body, so afflicted and diseased,
that he seemed to belong to the family
I of the putrifying, and of those cover-
j ed with worms ! What an impressive
I description ; and yet how true is it
j of all ! The most vigorous frame,
! the most beautiful and graceful form,
I tJie most brilliant complexion, has a
' near relationship to the worm, and
will soon belong to the mouldering
family beneath the ground ! Christian
reader ! such are you ; such am I.
Well, let it be so. Lei us not repine.
j Be the grave our home ; be the
! mouldering people there our parents,
and brothers, and sisters. Be our
! alliance wuth the worms. There is
i a brighter scene beyond — a world
j where we shall be kindred with the
j angels, and ranked among the sons
j of God. In that v/orld we shall be
clothed with immortal youth, and
shall know corruption no more.
Then our eyes will sliine with un-
diminished brilliancy for ever; our
cheeks glow with immortal health ;
our hearts beat with the pulsations
of eternal life. Then our iiands
shall be feeble and our knees totter
with disease or age no more ; and
then the current of health and joy
shall flow on through our veins for
ever and ever ! Allied now to worms
we are, but we are allied to the
angels too ; the grave is to be our
home, but so also is heaven ; the
worm is our brother, but so also is

CHAPTER XVII.

246

15 And where is now my
hope ? as for my hope, who shall
see it ?

a Jon. 2. 6.

the Son of God ! Such is man ; such
are Ijis prospects here,sucli his hopes
mid dcvstiny in the world to come.
He dies here, but he lives in glory
and honor hereafter for ever.
b'liall man, O God of light and life,

For ever moulder in the gr;ive ?
Canst thou forget thy glorious work,

Thy promise and thy power to save ?

S:hall life revisit dying worms,

And spread the joyful insects' wing?

And O shall man awake no more.
To see thy face, thy name to sing?

Faith sees the hright, eternal doors,
Unfold to make her children way ;

They shall be clothed with endless life,
And shine in everlasting day.

The trump shall sound, the dead shall wake.
From the cold tomb the slumbercrs spring ;

'J'hrough heaven with joy these myriads rise,
And hail their Saviour and their King.

Dk. Dwight.

15. JJnd where is noiv viy hope ?
What hope have I of life .^ What
possibility is there of my escape from
death ^ T[ Who shall sec it. ? That
is, who will see any hopes that I may
now cherish fulfilled. If I cherish
any, they will be disappointed, and
no one will see them accomplished.

16. They shall go down. That is,
my hopes shall go down. All the
expectations that I have cherished of
life and happiness, will descend there
with me. We have a similar expres-
sion when we say, that a man 'has
buried bis hopes in the grave,' when
he loses an only son. II To the
bars of the pit. ' Bars of SheoV —
Vi<t i-na . Vulg., " Profoundest
deep.'^ Sept, fiq udr^v — to Hades.
Sheol, or Hades, was supposed to be
under the earth. Its entrance wms
by the grave as a gate that led to it.
It was protected by bars — as prisons
are — so that those who entered there
could not escape. See Notes on Isa.
xiv. 9. It was a dark, gloomy dwell-
ing, far away from light, and from
thp comforts which men enjoy in this
lift.. See Job x. 21, 22. To that

16 They shall go down to the
bars " of the pit, when our rest
' together is in the dust.

b c. 3. 17-19.

dark world Job expected soon to
descend ; and though he did not re-
gard that as properly a place of
punishment, yet it was not a place of
positive joy. It was a gloomy and
wretched world — the land of dark-
ness and of the shadow of death; and
he looked to the certainty of going
there not with joy, but with anguish
and distress of lieart. Had Job been
favored with the clear and elevated
views of heaven which we have in
the Christian revelation, death to
him would have lost its gloom. We
wonder, often, that so good a man
expressed such a dread of death, and
that he did not look more calmly into
the future world. But to do him
justice, we should place ourselves in
his situation. We should lay aside
all that is cheerful and glad in the
views of heaven which Christianity
has given us We should look upon
the future world as the shadow of
death ; a land of gloom and spectres;
a place beneath the ground — da:rk,
chilly, repulsive ; and we shall cease
to wonder at the expressions of even
so good a man at the prospect of
death. When we look at Am, we
should remember with thankfulness
the different views which ice have of
the future world, and the source to
which we owe them. To us-^ if we
are pious in any measure as Job was,
death is the avenue, not to a world
of gloom, but to a world of light and
glory. It opens into heaven. There
is 710 gloom, no darkness, no sorrow.
There all are happy ; and there all
that is mysterious in this life is made
plain — all that is sad is succeeded by
eternal joy. These views we owe to
that Gospel which has brought life
and immortality to light; and when
we think of death and the future
world, when from the midst of woea
and sorrows we are compelled to look
out on eternity, let us rejoice that

246

JOB.

we are 4 not constrained to look for-
ward with the sad forebodings of the
Sage of Uz, but that we may think of
the grave, cheered by the strong
consolations of Christian hope of the

glorious resurrection. IT When our
rest together is in the dust. The rest
of me and my hopes. My hopes and
myself will expire together.

CHAPTER XVIII.

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER.

This second discouise of Bildad is made up almost entirely of a string of proverbial expres-
iions, sliowing what must befeill the wicked. The design is to prove that tiie wicked must be
punisheil, and to portray the various kinds of calamities that will come upon them. The infer-
ence which he manifestly designs should be drawn from his discourse, is, that where great
caLimities come upon a man, tliere is the most conclusive evidence that he is wicked. The
speech contains some particulars peculiarly adapted to the circumstances of Job, and were
doubtless intended to be ajjplied to him ; and they arc such as to leave no doubt that he regarded
Job as an eminently wicked man.

The speech consists of two parts.

I. A re{uoof of Job for the manner in which he had spoken, vs. ]-4. He accuses him of be-
ing lonir-windcd and interminable in his speecli, ver. 2. He complains that he and his friends
had been overlooked and despised, and had been regarded as beasts, ver. 3. He accuses Job of
insufferable pride and arrogance, as if even the most firm principles of the divine administration
were to be changed to accommodate him, ver-. 4.

II. A highly wrouglit description of the calamities which must come upon a wicked man, vs.
&-21. His light in his dwelling would bo put out (vs. 5, G) ; his own plans would destroy him,
and he would be taken in a net which he himself had spread (vs. 7, 8) ; he would soon be seized
by robbers, who would spring a net unexjjectedly upon him (vs. 9, 10) ; terrors on every side
would alarm him (ver. 11) ; his strength would be wasted (vs. 12, 13) ; he would be brought to
the king of terrors, and brimstone would I)c sprinkled on his dwelling (vs. 14, 15) ; he would bo
like a tree whose roots and branches were dead (ver. 16) ; his memory would perish from the
earth (ver. 17), and he would be chased out of the world (vor. 18) ; his family and name would
become extinct, so thai there would be no one to perpetuate his memory on earth (ver. 19) ; and
they who should come after him would be astonished at the total ruin which had come upon
the wicked man. That Rildad meant to apply all this to Job, there can be no doubt; and that
it would add greatly to his trials is equally clear. He felt it ; and his reply in the following
chapter is replete with expressions indicative of his intolerable anguish.

nnHEN answered Bildad the
Shuhite, and said,

2. Ho70 long will it be ere ye niahe
an end of tcords? It has been made
a question to whom this is addressed.
It is in the plural number, and it is
not usual in Hebrew wlien addressing
an individual to make use of the
plural form. Some have supposed
that it; is addressed to Job and to
Eliphaz, as being both ' long-wind-
ed' and tedious in tlieir remarks.
Others have supposed that it refers to
Job and the members of his faniihj^
who possibly interposed remarks,

2 How long will if be ere ye
make an end of words ? mark,

and joined Job in hi.s complaints.
Others suppose that it refers to Eli-
pliaz and Zophar, as being silent
during the speech of Job, and not ar-
resting his remarks as they ought to
have done. Rosenniiiller supposes
that it refers to Job and those similar
to him, who were mere feigners of
piety, and that Bildad means to ask
how long it would be before they
would be effectually silenced, and
their complaints hushed. I see no
great difficulty in supposing that the

CHAPTER XVIII.

247

and afterwards we will speak.

3 Wherefore are we counted
as beasts, and reputed vile in
your sight 1

a c 13, 14,

reference is to Job. The whole
strain of the discourse evidently sup-
poses it ; and there is no evidence
that any of the family of Job liad
spoken, nor does it seem at all proba-
ble tliat Bildad would reprove his
own friends either for the length of
their speeches, or for not interrupting
another. The custom in the East is
to allow a man to utter all tiiat he has
to say without interruption. II Mark.
Heb. ^inderstand ; or be intelligent —
^-'^■?^ ; that is, either speak distinctly,
clearly, intelligently ; or consider and
weigh our arguments. The former
is tlie interpretntion of Schultens,
and seems to me to be the true one.
Tlie idea is tliis : 'You, Job, have
been uttering mere words. They
are words of complaint, without ar-
gument. Speak now in a difl'erent
manner ; show that you understand
tlie case ; advance arguments that
are worthy of attention, and then we
will reply.'

3. fVherefore are toe counted as
beasts? 'Why are we treated in
your remarks as if we had no sense,
and were unworthy of sound argu-
ment in reply to what we say.'" It
is j)ossiblc that there may be reference
hereto what Job said (ch.xii.7) — that
even the beasts could give them in-
formation about God. But the gene-
ral idea is, that Job had not treated
their views with the attention whicli
they deserved, but had regarded them
as unworthy of notice IT And re-
jjutcd vile. The word here used
(ni3D) means to be unclean, or pol-
luted ; and the idea is, that Job re-
garded them as worthless or impious.

4. He teareth himself. More cor-
rectly, ' thou that tearest thyself in
anger !' It is not an athrmation about
Job, but it is a direct address to him.
The meaning is, that he was in the
naroxysms of a violent rage ; he

4 He " teareth ' himself in his
anger : shall the earth be forsa-
ken for thee ? and shall the rock
be removed out of his place ?

1 his so7il.

acted like a madman. IF Shall the
earth be forsaken for thee ? A reproof
of his pride and arrogance. ' Shall
every thing be made to give way for
you.' Are you the only man in the
world, and of so much importance,
that the earth is to be made vacant
for you to dwell in .? Are the inter-
ests of all others to be sacrificed for
you, and every thing else to give place
for you .? Are all the laws of God's* gov-
ernment to be made to yield rather
than that you should be punished .''
Similar modes of expression to de-
note the insignificance of any one
who is proud and arrogant, are still
used among the Arabs. " Since
Mohammed died, the Imams govern."
" TJie world will not sufier loss on
your account." "The world is not
dependent on any one man." T.
Hunt, in Lowth'.s' Lectures on He-
brew Poetry. Rosenrniiller's Morgen-
land. in loc. M And shall the rock he
removed out of his place ? ' Shall
the most firm and inmiutable things
give way for your special accommo-
dation .? Shall the most important
and settled principles of the divine
administration be made to bend on
your account .=" These were not the
principles and feelings of Job ; and
great injustice was done to him by
this supposition. He was disposed
to be submissive in the main to the
divine arrangement. But this will
describe the icelings of many a man
of pride, who supposes that the di-
vine arrangements should be made
to bend for his special accommoda-
tion, and that the great, eternnl prin-
ciples of justice and right should give
way rather than that he should be
dealt with as common sinners are,
and rather than that he should be cast
into hell. Such men wish a special
place of salvation for themselves.
They are too proud to be saved as
others are. They complain in theii

a^

JOB.

5 Yea, the light of the wicked
shall " be put out, and the spark
of his fire shall not shine.

6 The light shall be dark in

a Tr. 24. 20. 1 or, lamp. b Pr, 1. 30-32.

nearts that they are made to suffer,
to lose their property, to be sick, to
die — as others do. They would wish
to be treated with special mercy, and
to have special enactments in their
favor, and would have the eternal
laws of right made to bend for their
special accommodation. Such is the
pride of the human heart !

5. Yea. Truly; or, behold. Bildad
here commences his remarks on the
certain destiny of the wicked, and
strings together a number of apparent-
ly proverbial sayings, showing that
calamity in various forms would cer-
tainly overtake the wicked. There is
nothing particularly new in his argu-
ment, though the use of the various
images which he employs shows how
deep was the conviction of this doc-
trine at that time, and how exten-
sively it prevailed. H The light of
the tcic/ced shall be put out. Light
here is an emblem of prosperity.
IT The sjjark of his fire. Heb. the
flame of his fire. Tliere may be an
allusion here to the customs of
Arabian hospitality. This was, and
is, their national glory, and it is their
boast that no one is ever refused it.
The emblem offire or flame here may
refer to the custom of kindling a fire
on an eminence, near a dwelling, to
attract the stranger to share the hos-
pitality of the owner of it ; or it may
refer to the fire iii his tent, which the
stranger was alvv^ays at liberty to
share. In the collection of tlie
Arabian poems, called the Hamasa,
this idea occurs almost in the words
of Bildad. The extract was fur-
nished me by the Rev. Eli Smith, It
is a boast of Salamiel, a prince of
Tenia. In extolling the virtues of his
tribe, he says, " I\o fire of ours was
ever extinguished at night without a
guest ; and of O'ur guests never did
one disparage us." The idea here

his tabernacle, and his ^ candle
shall be put out with him.

7 The steps of his stre.igth
shall be straitened, and his own
^ counsel shall cast him down.

is, that the wicked woujd attempt to
show hospitality, but the means
W'ould be taken away. He would
not be permitted to enjoy the coveted
reputation of showing it to the
stranger, and the fire which might
invite the traveller, or which might
confer comfort on him, would be put
out in his dwelling. The inability to
extend the offer of a liberal hospi-
tality would be equivalent to the
deepest poverty, or the most trying
affliction.

6. Aid his candle. Marg. lamp.
The reference is to a lamp that was
suspended from the ceiling. The
Arabians are fond of this image.
Thus they say, " Bad fortune has
extinguished my lamp." Of a man
whose hopes are remarkably blasted,
they say, "He is like a lamp which
is immediately extinguished if you
let it sink in the oil." See Schulte.ns.
The putting out of a lamp is to the
Orientals an image of utter desolation.
It is the universal custom to have a
light burning in their houses at night.
"The houses of Egypt, in modern
times, are never without lights ; they
burn lamps all llie night long, and in
every occupied apartment. So re-
quisite to the comfort of a family is
this custom reckoned, and so impe-
rious is the power which it exercises,
that the poorest people would rather
retrench part of their food than neg-
lect it." Paxton. It is not improba-
ble that this custom prevailed ',n
former times in Arabia, as it does
now in Egypt ; and this consideration
will give increased beauty and force
to this passage.

7. The steps of his strength. Strong
steps. ' Steps of strength' is a He-
braism, to denote firm or vigorous
steps. IT Shall be straitened. Shall
be compressed, embarrassed, Jiindcr-
ed. Instead of walking freely and

CHAPTER XVIII.

249

8 For he is cast into a net "
by his own feet, and he walketh
upon a snare.

9 The gin shall take him by

a Pr. 5. 22. 29. 6. 1 hidden.

nt large, he sliall be compressed and
limited in his goings. " Large steps,"
♦' free movement," &lc. are proverbial
expressions among the Arabs, to de-
note freedom, prosperity, &c. Rosen-
milller. Schultens quotes the follow-
ing illustrations from the Arabic
poets. From Ibn Doreid, " He who
does not confine himself within
human limits, his vast strides shall
be straitened." And from Taurizius,
" After the battle of Bedrense, the
steps were straitened." The mean-
ing here is, that he would be greatly
impeded in his movements, instead
of going forth at large and in full
vigor as he had formerly done. H j9ud
?iis own counsel. His own plans shall
be the means of his fall.

8. For he is cast into a net hxj his
oicn feet. He is caught in his own
tricks, as if he had spread a net or
dug a pitfall for another, and had
fallen into it himself The meaning
is, that he would bring ruin upon
himself while he was plotting the
ruin of others. See Ps. ix. 16, " The
wicked is snared by the work of his
own hands," Comp. Note ch. v. 13.
The phrase "by his own feet" here
means, that he walks there himself.
He is not led or driven by others,
but he goes himself into the net.
Wild animals are sometimes driven,
but he walks along of his own acc^ord
into the net, and has no one to blame
but himself. !I jind he walketh upon
a snare. Or a pitfall. This was
formerly the mode of taking wild
beasts. It was done by excavating
a place in tlie earth, and covering it
over with turf, leaves, &c. supported
in a slender manner ; so that the lion,
or elephant, or tiger that should tread
on it, would fall through. These
methods of taking v/ild beasts, have
been practised from the earliest times,
and are practised every where.

tlie heel, and the robber shall
prevail against him.

10 The snare is ^ laid for him
in the ground, and a trap for
him in the way.

9. The gin. Another method of
taking wild beasts. It was a snare
so made as to spring suddenly on an
animal, securing him by the neck or
feet. We use a trap for the same
purpose. The Hebrew word (HS)
may denote any thing of this kind—
a snare, net, noose, &c. with which
birds or wild animals are taken.
'll By the heel. By the foot. IT And
the robber shall prevail. He shall be
overpowered by the highwayman ; or
the plunderer shall make a sudden
descent upon him, and strip him of
his all. The meaning is, that de-
struction would suddenly overtake
him. There can be no doubt that
Bildad meant to apply all this to Job.
10. The snare is laid. All this lan-
guage is taken from the modes of
taking wild beasts ; but it is not pos-
sible to designate with absolute cer-
tainty the methods in which it was
done. The word here used (^5^))
means a cord, or rope; and then a
snare, gin, or toil, such as is used by
hunters. It was used in some way
as a noose to secure an animal. This
was concealed (Hebrew) "in the
earth" — so covered up that an animal
would not perceive it, and so con-
structed that it might be made to
spring upon it suddenly. H jind a
trap. We have no reason to suppose
that at that time they employed steel
to construct traps as we do novv, or
that the word here has exactly the
sense which we give to it. ' The
Hebrew word (n'lSbTO) is from "^5^
— to take, to catch, and means a noose,
snare, spring — by which an animal
was seized. It is a general term ;
though undoubtedly used to denote
a particular instrument, then well
known. The general idea in all this
is, that tPe wicked man would be
suddenly seized by calamities, as a

250

JOB.

wild animal or a bird is taken in a
snare. Independently of the interest
of the entire passage (vs. 8-10) as a
part of the argument of Bildad, it is
interesting from the view which it
gives of the mode of securing wild
animals in the early periods of the
world. They had no guns as we
have ; but they early learned the art
of setting gins and snares by which
they were taken. In illustrating this
passage, it will not be inappropriate
to refer to some of the modes of hunt-
ing practised by the ancient Egyptians,
and to introduce here some cuts
vyhich may illustrate that mode. The
cuts will show that substantially the
same methods were practised then in

catching birds and taking wild beasts
as now, and that there is little novelty
in modern practices. The ancients
had not only traps, nets, and springs,
but also bird-lime smeared upon
twigs, and made use of stalking-
horses, setting-dogs, &c. The various
methods in which this was done, may
be seen described at length in Wilkin-
son's Manners and Customs of the
Ancient Egyptians, vol. iii. pp. 1-81.
The following cuts will illustrate
some of those methods.

The noose was employed to catch
the wild ox, the antelope, and other
animals. The following cuts are
taken from drawings atBeni Hassan

Fig. 1.

CHAPTER XVIII.

251

The following specimens of bird-
traps also are found in the drawings
at Beni Hassan. This seems to be a

self-acting net, so constructed that
the birds, when coming in contact
with it, close it upon themselves.

Fig. 2.

The following figure (Z) is very
similar to this, except that it is oval ;
it had probably a net like the former.
It is is composed of two arcs, which,
being kept open by machinery in the

middle, furnish the oval frame of the
net; but when the bird flies in, anf*
knocks out the pin in the centre, the
arcs collapse, as is shown in fig. 4,
inclosing the bird in the net:

Fig. 3.

252

JOB.

11 Terrors ** shall make him I afraid on every side, and shall

a Je.20.3.4.

1 scatter.

drive him to his feet.

Fig. 4.

One instance occurs, in a painting at I is caught, and carried on the shoulders
Thebes, of a trap, in which a hyaena | of two men.

Fig. 5.

It was a common method of hunt-
ing to enclose a large tract of land by
a circle of nets, or to station men
at convenient distances, and gradually
to contract the circle by coming near
to each other, and thus to drive all
the wild animals into a narrow en-
closure, wh<!re they could be easily
slain. Some idea of the extent of
those enclosures may be formed from
the by no means incredible circum-
stance related by Plutarch, that when
the Macedonian conquerors were in
Persia, Philotos, the son of Armenio,
had hunting-nets that would enclose

the space of an hundred furlongs.
The Oriental sovereigns have some-
times employed whole armies in this
species of hunting. Pict. Bib.

11. Terrors shall make him afraid.
He shall be constantly subject to
alarms, and shall never feel secure
" Terrors here are represented as al
legorical persons, like the Furies in
the Greek poets." JYoyes. The idea
here is substantially the same as that
given by Eliphaz, ch. xv. 21, 22.
IT And shall drive him to his feet.
Marg. scatter. This is a literal trans-
lation of the Hebrew. The idea is,

CHAPTER XVIII.

253

12 His strength shall be hun-
ger-bitten, and destruction shall
he ready at his side.

13 It shall devour the 'strength
of his skin : even the first-born

ihat he will be alarmed by such ter-
rors; Jiis self-composure will be dis-
sipated, and he will ' take to his heels.'

12. His strength shall he hunger-hit-
ten. Shall be exhausted by hunger or
famine. ^\Jind desiruction shall be rea-
dy at his side. Heb. " Shall be fitted"
CliSS) " to his side." Some have
supposed that this refers to some dis-
ease, like the pleurisy, that would
adhere closely to his side. So Je-
rome understands it. Schultens has
quoted some passages from Arabic
poets, in which calamities are repre-
sented as hreaking the side. Bildad
refers, probably, to some heavy judg-
ments that would crush a man ; such
that the rihs., or the human frame,
could not bear; and the meaning is,
that a wicked man would be certainly
crushed by misfortune.

13. It shall devour the strength of
his skin. Marg. bars. The margin
is a correct translation of the Hebrew.

The word used C^*^.^, construct with
lulls' — his skin) means bars, staves^
branches, and here denotes his limbs,
members ; or, more literally, the
hones, as supports of the skin, or the
human frame. The bones are re-
garded as the bars, or the frameicork,
holding the other parts of the body in
their place, and over which the skin
is stretched. The word " it " here
refers to the " first-born of death" in
the other hemistich of the verse ;
and the meaning is, that the strength
of his body shall be entirely exhaust-
ed. IT The first-born of death. The
" first-born " is usually spoken of as
distinguished for vigor and strength.
Gen. xlix. 3, " Reuben, thou art my
first-born, my might, and the begin-
ning of my strength ;" and the idea
conveyed here by the " first-born of
17

of death shall devour his strength.
14 His confidence ° shall be
rooted out of his tabernacle ; and
it shall bring him to the king of
terrors,

a Pr. 10. 28.

death " is the most fearful and des-
tructive disease that death has ever
engendered. Comp. Milton's des-
cription of the progeny of sin, in Pa-
radise Lost. Diseases are called '^ the
sons or children of death " by the
Arabs, (see Schultens in loc.,) as
being begotten by it.

14. His confidence shall be rooted
out of his tabernacle. Security shall
forsake his dwelling, and he shall be
subject to constant alarms. There
shall be nothing there in which he
can confide, and all that he relied on
as sources of safety shall have fled.
IF And it shall bring him. That is,
he shall be brought. TI To the king
of terrors. There has been much
variety in the explanation of this
verse. Dr. Noyes renders it, " Ter-
ror pursues him like a king." Dr.
Good, " Dissolution shall invade him
like a monarch." Dr. Stock says, "I
am sorry to part with a beautiful
phrase in our common version, the
king of terrors, as descriptive of
death , but there is" no authority for it
in the Hebrew text." Wemyss ren-
ders it, " Terror shall seize him as a
king." So Schultens translates it,
" Gradientur in eum, instar regis, ter-
rores.' RosenmUller renders it as it
is in our version. The Vulgate, Ei
calcet super eum, quasi rex, interitus —
' destruction shall tread upon him as a
king.' The LXX, " and distress
shall lay hold on him with the au-
thority of a king" — alrCc^ ^aoUixfj.
The Chaldee renders it, "shall lie
brought to the king of terrors" —
i^nTTJiri'l M^.'?^ • It is not evident,
therefore, that we are to give up the
beautiful phrase, the king of terrors.
The fair construction of the Hebrew,
as it seems to me, is that which ifl
conveyed in our common version-
meaning, that the wicked man would

254

JOB.

15 It shall dwell in his taber-
nacle, because it is none of his :
brimstone shall be scattered upon
his habitation.

be conducted, not merely to death,
but to that kind of death where a
fearful king would preside — a mon-
arch infusing terrors into his soul.
There is something singularly beau-
tiful and appropriate in the phrase,
" the king of terrors."" Death is a
fearful monarch. All dread him.
He presides in regions of chilliness
and gloom. All fear to enter those
dark regions where he dwells and
reigns, and an involuntary shudder
seizes the soul on approaching the
confines of his kingdom. Yet all
must be brought there ; and though
man dreads the interview with that
fearful king, there is no release. The
monarch reigns from age to age —
reigns over all. There is but one
way in which he will cease to appear
as a terrific king. — It is by confidence
in Him who came to destroy death ;
that great Redeemer who has taken
away his "sting," and who can en-
able man to look with calmness and
peace even on the chilly regions
where he reigns. The idea here is
not precisely that of the Roman and
Grecian mylholoi^ists, of a terrific
judge, like Rhadamanthus, presid-
ing over the regions of the dead ;
but it is of death personified — of
death r- presented as a king fitted to
inspire, awe nnd terror.

15. It shall dwell in his tabernacle.
It is uncertain what is to be under-
stood as referred to here. Some sup-
pose that tlie word to be understood
is soul, and that the meaning is " his
soul," i. e he himself, " shall dwell
in his tent.' Rosenmaller, Noyes,
Wemyss, and others, suppose that the

word is terror. " Terror (•^•^^5)
shall dwell in his tent," the same
word which is used in the plural in
the previous verse. This is undoubt-
edly the correct sense ; and the idea
is, that his forsaken tent shall be a
place of terror — somewhat, perhaps.

16 His roots " shall be dried
up beneath, and above shall his
branch be cut off.

a Is. 5. 24

as we speak of a forsaken house as
haunted. It may he that Bildad refers
to some such superstitious fear as we
eometimes, and almost always in
childhood, connect with the idea of
a house in which nobody lives.
H Because it is none of his. It is no
longer his. It is a forsaken, tenant-
less dwelling. ^ Brimstone shall be
scattered. Brimstone has been al-
ways the image of desolation. No-
thing will grow on a field that is
covered with sulphur ; and the mean-
ing here is, that his house would be
utterly desolate and forsaken. Ro-
senmUller and Noyes suppose that
there is an allusion here to a sudden
destruction, such as was that of So-
dom and Gomorrha. Grotius doubts
whether it refers to that or to light-
ning. Others suppose that lightning
is referred to both here and in Gen.
xix. 24. Deut. xxix. 23. I can see
no evidence here, however, that there
is any reference to Sodom and Go-
morrha, or that there is any allusion
to lightning. If the allusion had been
to Sodom, it would have been more
full. That was a case jiist inpoint in
the argument ; and the fact that it was
exactly in point, and would have
furnished to the friends of Job such
an irrefragable proof of the position
which they were defending, and that
it is not inwrought into the very tex-
ture of their argument, is full demon-
stration, to my mind, that tiiat re'
markable event is not referred to in
this place. The only thing necessa-
rily implied in the language before us
is, that sulphur, the emblem of deso-
lation, would be scattered on his
dwelling, and that his dwelling would
be wholly desolate.

16. His roots shall be dried vp.
Another image of complete desola
tion — where he is compared to a tree
that is dead — a figure whose mean-
ing is obvious, and which often oc-

CHAPTER XVIII.

255

17 His remembrance " shall
perish from the earth, and he
shall have no name in the street.

18 ' He shall be driven from
light into darkness, and chased
out of the world.

19 He shall neither ^ have

a Ts. 3}. 16. 1 Theti shall drive him.

h Is. 14. 2-2.

curs. See Notes, ch. xv. 30, viii. 12,
13. U Above his branch. Perhaps re-
ferring to his children or family.
All shall be swept away — an allu-
sion which Job could not well hesi-
tate to apply to himself.

17. His remembrance shall perish.
His name — all recollection of him.
Calamity shall follow him even after
death ; and that which every man
desires, and every good man has, an
honored name when he is dead, will
be denied him. Men will hasten to
forget hun as fast as possible. Comp.
Prov. X. 7, " The name of the wicked
shall rot." IT JYo name in the street.
Men when they meet together in
liighways and places of concourse —
when traveller meets traveller, and
caravan caravan, shall not pause to
speak of him, and of the loss which
society has sustained by his death.
It is one of the rewards of virtue that
tlie good will speak of the upright
man when he is dead ; that they will
{)ause in their journey, or in their
ousiness, to converse about him ; and
that the poor and the needy will
dwell with affectionate interest upon
their loss. This blessing, Biidad says,
will be denied the wicked man. The
world will not feel that they have
any loss to deplore when he is dead.
No great plan of benevolence has
been arrested by his removal. The
poor and the needy fare as well as
they did before. The widow and the
fatherless make no grateful remem-
brance of his name, and the world
hastens to forget him as soon as pos-
sible. There is no man, except one
who is lost to all virtue, who does not
desire to be remembered when he is
dead — by his children, his neighbors.

son nor nephew among his peo-
ple, nor any remaining in his
dwellings.

20 They that come after hi?u
shall be astonied at his day, '
as they that ^ went before ^ were
affrighted.

c Ps. 37- 13. 2 or, lived icith him.

3 laid hold on horror.

his friends, and by the stranger who
may read the record on the stone that
marks his grave. Where this desire
is wholly extinguished, man has
reached the lowest possible point of
degradation, and the last hold on him
in favor of virtue has expired.

18. He shall be driven from light
into darkness. Marg. They shall
drive him. The meaning is, that he
sliould be driven from a state of pros-
perity to one of calamity. IT And
chased out of the icorld. Perhaps
meaning that he should not be con-
ducted to the grave with the slow and
solemn pomp of a respectful funeral,
but in a hurry — as a malefactor is
driven from human life, and hastily
committed to the earth. The living
would be glad to be rid of him, and
would chase him out of life.

19. He shall neither have son, &c.
All his family shall be cut off. He
shall have no one to perpetuate his
name or remembrance. All this Job
could not help applying to himself, as
it was doubtless intended he should.
The facts in his case were just such
as were supposed in these proverbs
about the wicked ; and hence, his
friends could not but conclude that
he was a wicked man ; and hence,
too, since these were undisputed max-
ims, Job felt so much embarrassment
in answering them.

20. They that come after him.
Future ages; they who may hear of his
history, and of the manner in which he
was cut off from life. So the passage
has been generally rendered ; so, sub-
stantially, it is by Dr. Good, Dr.Noyos,
ItosenmUller, and Luther. The Vul-
gate translates it novissimi; the Sept.
i'oxccToi — " the last " — meaning those

256

JOB.

21 Surely such are the dwell-
ings of the wicked, and this is

that should Hve after him, or at a
later period. But Schultens sup-
poses that the word here used denotes
those in the JVest, and the correspond-
ing word rendered "went before,"
denotes those in the East. With this
view Wemyss concurs, who renders
the whole verse,

" The West shall be astonished at his endj
The East shall be panic-struck."

According to this, it means that those
who dwelt in the remotest regions
would be astonished at the calamities
which would come upon him. It
seems to me that this accords better
with the scope of the passage than the
other interpretation, and avoids some
difficulties which cannot be separated
from the other view. The word
translated in our version, " that come
after him" (Q'^?''^n5<) is fi-om ^n^,
to be after, or behind ; to stay behind,
to delay, remain. It then means
after., or behind ; and as in the geo-
graphy of the Orientals the face was
supposed to be turned to the East, in-
stead of being turned to the North, as
with us — a much more natural posi-
tion than ours — the word after, o'r
behind, comes to denote theWest, the
right hand the South, the left the
North. See Notes on ch. xxiii. 8, 9.
Thus the phrase Ti'^J^i<ri S^ri _
the sea behind, denotes the Mediter-
ranean sea — the West. Deut. xxiv.
3. See also Deut. xi. 24, xxxiv. 2.
Joel xi. 20, where the same phrase in
Hebrew occurs. Those who dwelt
in the West, therefore, would be ac-
curately referred to by this phrase.
TI Shall be astonied. Shall be as-
tonished— the old mode of writing the
word being astonied, Isa. lii. 14. It
is not known, however, to be used
in any other book than the Bible.
H ^5 they that tcent before. Marg. or
lived ivith him. Noyes, " his elders
fihall be struck with horror." V'ulg.

the place of him that knoweth
not " God.

a 2 Th. 1. 8.

" et primes invadet horror." Sept.
'• amazement seizes the first'' —
nooj-eovq. But the more correct in-
terpretation is that which refers it to
the people of the East. The word
D'^j?3'7|5 is from Clf?, to precede, to
go before ; and then the derivatives
refer to that which goes before, which
is in front, &c. ; and as the face was
turned to the East by geographers,
the word comes to express that which
is in the East, or near the sun-rising.
See Joel ii. 20 ; Job xxiii. 8 : Gen. ii. 8,
xii. 8. Hence the phrase D'lp ''iS —
Bene kedem — so7is of the East —
meaning the persons who dwelt east
of Palestine, Job i. 3. Isa. xi. 14.
Gen. xxv.6, xxix. 1. The word here
used, (Q'^ija'lf? — kddmonlm,) is used
to denote the people or the regions
of the East, in Ezek. xlvii. 8, 18.
Zech. xiv. 8. Here it means, as it
seems to me, the people of the East ;
and the idea is, that men every where
would be astonished at the doom of
the wicked man. His punishment
would be so sudden and entire as to
hold the world mute with amazement.
ir Were affrighted. IVIarg. laid hold
on horror. This is a more literal
rendering. The sense is, they would
be struck with horror at what would
occur to him.

21. Surely such are the dicellings of
the loicked. The conclusion or sum
of the whole matter. The meaning
is, that the habitations of all that
knew not God would be desolate — a
declaration which Job could not but
regard as aimed at himself. Comp.
ch. XX. 29. This is the close of this
harsh and severe speech. It is no
wonder that Job should feel it keenly,
and that he did feel it is apparent
from the following chapter. A string
of proverbs had been presented, hav-
ing the appearance of proof, and as
the result of the long observation of
the course of events, evidently bear-

CHAPTER XIX.

257

ing on his circumstances, and so much
in point that he could not well deny
their pertinency to his condition. He

was stung to the quick, and gave vent
to his agonized feelings in the follow-
ing chapter.

CHAPTER XIX.

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER.

This exceedingly beautiful chapter consists of the following parts: .

I. Job complains in the most pathetic manner of the want of feehng lu his friends, and of
their reo-arding his calamities as undoubted proof of his guilt, vs. 1-4.

II Ho maintains in the most earnest manner, that his calamities had been brought on hm
bv a'soverei'-n God, for some cause unknown to him, but which was not to be regarded as proof
of his "uilt " Though he could not answer the plausible reasoning of his friends, yet he mam-
taincd^that'Cod, and not his sins, had been the cause of his afflictions, vs. 5-20. He then goes
into a pathetic description of the afflictions which God had brought upon him, designed to show
that such suffering's oiurht to excite the compassion of his friends, and not to be the occasion of
reproach God had oveithrownhim(vcr.6) ; he had refused to hear him (v(^r.7)j he had hedged
UP his way (ver. 8) ; he had stripped him of his gh)ry (ver. 9) ; he had destroyed him on every
side fver 10) ; lie had kindled his wrath against him (vs. 11, 12); he had made him an alien
and a stran<;er to his own family, and even children had refused to render him the respect due

towage am ^ran^ J,]-^ihe "afflictions which he had suffered at the hand of God, he calls on his
friends, in the most pathetic manner, to have pity on him. He asks them why they join with
God in'accumulating sorrows upon him, vs. 21, 22. _ u-r--j j*!,*

IV Perceivin-^ that the representations ot his sufferings had no effect on his friends, and that
he was unable t^o rouse them to any sense of his wrongs, or to obtain justice from them, he
suddenly turns from them, and expresses the earnest desire that all that he had said might be •
en-raven on the solid rock forever, that his case might go down to future times and that he
mi^ht obtain in distant ages the justice which was denied him in his own, vs. 23, 24.

V Yet he is not satisfied with the slow and tardy justice which posterity would render him,
hut makes his appeal to God, and says that Ae would vindicate his cause. He expresses (he
firmest assurance that he would come forth in his fovor, and rescue his nairie from the charges
which had been brought against it. 'These sufferings might continue; disease might wholly
wrste him awav • all his flesh might be consumed by worms ; and the circumstances on which
his friends so confidently relied in proof that he was a hypocrite might be more aggravated
"till: yet he had the utmost confidence that God would come forth to vindicate him, and Uiat
everv thin^ that was dark would be cleared away, vs. 25-27.

Vr Pe clones bv saying, that their treatment of him ought to have been different, vs. 28, 29.
Thov could not but have perceived that he had the elements of piety in him, though he ^ya3
thus ov erwhelmed ; and they had reason to dread the wrath of Heaven for the manner in which
they had treated a pious sufferer.

T

HEN Job answered and said,
2 How long will ye vex my

a Ge. 31 7.

2 Hoic long- xcill ye vex my soul ?
Perhaps designing to reply to the
taunting speech of Bildad, ch. xviii.
2. He had asked ' how long it would
be ere Job would make an end of
empty talk ?' Job asks, in reply, lioxo
long they would torture and afflict
his^soul ? Or whether thore was no

soul, and break me in pieces with
words ?

3 These ten " times have ye

hope that this would ever come to an
end ! IT And hreak me in pieces.
Crush me, or bruise me — like break-
ing any thing in a mortar, or break-
ing rocks by repeated blows of the
hammer. J^'oyes. He says they had
crushed him, as if by repeated blows.
3. These ten times. Many times;

liS

JOB.

reproached me : you are not
ashamed that you ' make your-
selves strange to me.

4 And be it indeed that I
have erred, mine error remain-

] or, harden yourselves against me.

the word ten being used as we often
say,<erA, a dozen., or ticenty^ to denote
many. See Gen. xxxi. 7. " And
your father hath changed my wages
ten times.''' Lev. xxvi. 26. " And
when I have broken your staff of
bread, ten women shall bake your
bread in one oven." Comp. Num.
xiv. 22. Neh. iv. 6. IT You are not
ashamed that you Tnakc yourselves
strange to me. Marg. harden your-
selves against me. Gesenius, and
after him Noyes, renders this,
" Shameless ye stun me." Wemyss,
" Are ye not ashamed to treat me
thus cruelly V The word here used
\'ri*^ — hdkhdr) occurs no where
else, and hence it is difficult to de-
termine its meaning. The Vulgate
renders it, ^'■oppressing me." The
LXX, " and you are not ashamed to
press upon me' — L^fyno&f /for.
Schultens has gone into an extended
examination of its meaning, and sup-
poses that the primary idea is that of
being stiff, or rigid. The word in
Arabic, he says, means to be stupid
with wonder. It is applied, he sup-
poses, to those who are stiff or rigid
with stupor ; and then to those who
have a stony heart and an iron fore-
head— and who can look on the suf-
fering without feeling or compassion.
This sense accords well with the con-
nection here. Gesenius, however,
supposes that the primary idea is that
of beating or pounding; and hence
of stunning by repeated blows. In
either case the sense would be sub-
Btantially the same — that o^ stunning.
The idea given by our translators of
making themselves '■'■strange" was
derived from the supposition that the
word might be formed from *^33 —
ndkhdr — to be strange, foreign ; to
estrange, alienate, &c. For a more full

eth with myself.

5 If indeed ye will magnify *
yourselves against me, and plead
against me my reproach ;

6 Know now that God hath

a Ps. 38. 16.

examination of the word, the reader
may consult Schultens, or Rosenmiil-
ler in loco.

4, And be it indeed that I have erred.
Admitting that I have erred, it is my
own concern. You have not a right
to reproach and revile me in this
manner. IF Mine error abideth icith
myself. I must abide the conse-
quences of the error. The design of
this seems to be to reprove what he
regarded as an improper and meddle-
some interference with his concerns.
Or it may be an expression of a wil-
lingness to bear all the consequences
himself. He was willing to meet all
the fair results of his own conduct.

5. If\ indeed, ye xcill magnify
yourselves against me. This is con-
nected with the next verse. The
sense is, 'all these calamities came
from God. He has brought them
upon me in a sudden and mysterious
manner. In these circumstances you
ought to have pity upon me, ver 21.
Instead of magnifying yourselves
against me, setting yourselves up as
censors and judges, overwhelming
me with reproaches, and filling my
mind with pain and anguish, you
ought to show to me the sympathy
of a friend.'' The phrase, "magnify
yourselves," refers to the fact that
they had assumed a tone of supe-
riority and an authoritative manner,
instead of showing the compassion
due to a friend in affliction. H And
plead against me my reproach. My
calamities as a cause of reproach.
You urge them as a proof of the dis-
pleasure of God, and you join in re-
proaching me as a hypocrite. In-
stead of this, you should have shown
compassion to me as a man whom
God had greatly afflicted.

6. Know now that God. I'nderstand
the case : and in order that they

CHAPTER XIX.

259

overthrown me, and hath com-
passed me with his net.

7 Behold, I cry out of ^ wrong,
but I am not heard : I cry aloud,
but there is no judgment.

8 He hath fenced up my way
that I cannot pass, and he hath
set darkness in my paths.

might, he goes into an extended de-
scription of the calamities which
God had brought upon him. He
wished them to be fully apprised of
all that he Jiad suffered at the hand
of God. IT Hath overthroicn me.

The word here used ("^l!^) means to
bend, to make crooked or curved ;
then to distort, pervert; then to over-
turn, to destroy. Isa. xxiv. 1. Lam.
iii. 9. The m.eaning here is, that he
had been in a state of prosperity, but
that God had completely reversed
every thing. IT Jind hath compassed
me icith his net. Has sprung his net
upon me as a hunter does, and I am
caught. Perhaps there maybe an al-
lusion here to what Bildad said in ch.
xviii. 8. seq., that the wicked would
be taken in his own snares. In-
stead of that, Job says that God hacl
sprung the snare upon him — for
reasons which he could not under-
stand, but in such a manner as should
move the compassion of his friends.
7. Behold., I cry out of wrong.
Mar g. or violence. The Hebrew word
(&^ri) means properly violence. The
violence referred to is that which
was brought upcn him by God. It is,
indeed, harsh language ; but it is not
quite sure that he means to complain
of God for doing him injustice. God
had dealt with him in a severe or
violent manner, is the meaning, and
he had cried unto him for relief, but
had cried in vain. IF JVo judgment.
No justice. The meaning is, that
he could obtain justice from no one.
God would not interpose to remove
the calamities which he had brought
upon him, and his friends would do
no justice to his motives and char-
acter.

9 He hath stripped me of my
glory, and taken the crownyrom
my head.

10 He "■ hath destroyed me on
every side, and I am gone : and
mine hope hath he removed like
a tree.

1 or, violence.

La. Q. 5, 6.

8. He hath fenced up my icay. This
figure is taken from a traveller, whose
way is obstructed by trees, rocks, or
fences, so that he cannot get along,
and Job says it was so with him. He
was travelling along in a peaceful
manner on the journey of life, and
all at once obstructions were put in
his path, so that he could not go
farther. This does not refer, particu-
larly, to his spiritual condition, if it
does at all. It is descriptive of the
obstruction of his plans, rather than
of spiritual darkness or distress. ^ And
he hath set darkness in my paths. So
that I cannot see — as if all around
the traveller should become suddenly
dark, so that he could not discern his
way The language here would
well express the spiritual darkness
which the friends of God sometimes
experience, though it is by no means
certain that Job referred to that.
All the dealings of God are to them
mysterious, and there is no light in
the soul — and they are ready to sink
down in despair.

9. He hath stripped me of my glory.
Every thing which I had that con-
tributed to my respectability and
honor, he has taken away. My pro-
perty, my health, my family, the
esteem of my friends — all is gone.
IT And taken the crown from m,yhead.
The crown is an emblem of honor
and dignity — and Job says that God
had removed all that contributed to
his former dignity. Comp. Prov. iv.
9, xvii. 6. Ezek. xvi. 12. Lam. v. 16.

10. He hath destroyed me on every
side. He has left me nothing. The
word which is here used is that which
is commonly applied to destroying
cities, towns, and houses. Rosen.'

260

JOB.

11 He hath also kindled his
wrath against me, and he count-
eth me unto him as one of his
enemies.

12 His troops come together,
and raise up their way against

milUer. H And I am gone. That is,
I am near death. I cannot recover
myself. IT And viine hojje hath he
removedlike a tree. A tree, which is
plucked up by the roots, and which
does not grow again. That is, his
hopes of life and happiness, of an
honored old age, and of a continuance
of his prosperity, had been wholly
destroyed. This does not refer to
his religious hope — as the word hope
is often used novv — but to his desire
of future comfort and prosperity in
this life. It does not appear but that
his religious hope, arising from con-
fidence in God, remained unaffected.

11. He hath also kindled his icrath.
He is angry. Wrath in the Scrip-
tures is usually represented as burn-
ing or inflamed — because like fire it
destroys every thing before it. H And
he counteth me nnto him as one o? his
enemies. He treats me as he would
an enemy. The same complaint he
elsewhere makes. See ch. xiii. 24 ;
perhaps also in ch. xvi. 9. We are
not to understand Job here as admit-
ing that he was an enemy of God.
He constantly maintained that he
was not, but he was constrained to
admit that God treated him as if he
were his enemy, and he could not ac-
count for it. On this ground., there-
fore, he now maintains that his
friends ought to show him compas-
sion, instead of trying to prove that
he was an enemy of God ; they
ought to pity a man who was so
strangely and mysteriously afflicted,
instead of increasing his sorrows by
endeavoring to demonstrate that he
was a man of eminent wickedness.

12. His troops. The calamities
which he had sent, and which are
here represented as armies or soldiers
to accomplish his work. It is not
probable that he refers here to the

me, and encamp round about my
tabernacle.

13 He hath put my brethren
far from me, and mine acquaint-
ance are verily estranged from
me.

bands of the Chaldeans and the
Sabeans, that had robbed him of his
property, but to the calamities that
had come upon him, as if they were
bands of robbers. U And raise up
their ivay. As an army that is about
to lay siege to a city, or that is march-
ing to attack it, casts up a way of ac-
cess to it, and thus obtains every
facility to take it. See Notes on Isa.
xl. 3, Ivii. ]4. H A7id encamp round
about my tahernacle. In the manner
of an army besieging a city. Often
an army encamped in this manner
for months or even years, in order to
reduce the city by famine. IT My
tahernacle. My tent ; my dwelling.
13. He hath put my brethren. This
is a new source of affliction that he
had not adverted to before, that God
had caused all his children to be es-
tranged from him — a calamity which
he regarded as the crown of all his
woes. The word rendered ' my
brethren' ("^H^) means properly my
brothers — but whether he means
literally his brothers, or whether he
designs it to be taken in a figurative
sense as denoting his intimate friends,
or those of the same rank in life or
calling, it is impossible now to deter-
mine. II And mine acquaintance.
My friends — on whom I relied in
time of calamity. H Are verily es-
tranged. They have forgotten me,
and treat me as a stranger. What an
accurate description is this of whet
often occurs! In prosperity a mall
will be surrounded by friends ; but
as soon as his prosperity is stripped
away, and he is overwhelmed with
calamity, they withdraw, and leave
him to suffer alone. Proud of his ac-
quaintance before, they now pass him
by as a stranger, or treat him with
cold civility, and when he needs their
friendship, they are gone.

CHAPTER XIX.

261

14 My " kinsfolk have failed,
and my familiar friends have
forgotten me.

15 They that dwell in mine
house, and my maids, count me
for a stranger : I am an alien in
their sight

a Ps. 38. 11

14. My kinsfolk have failed. My
neighbors C^Silpj, those who were
near to-me. It may refer to nearness
of affinity, friendship, or residence.
TJie essential idea is ihdiio? nearness
— whether by blood, affection, or
vicinity. In Ps. xxxviii. 11, it denotes
near friends. t[ And my familiar
friends. Those who knew me —
*?'^!''^ . The allusion is to those
who were intimately acquainted with
him, or who were his bosom friends.

15. Tkey that dwell in mine hoiise.
The trials came to his very dwelling,
and produced a sad estrangement
there. The word here used ('^'^J
from *^^5) means properly those who
sojourn in a house for a little time
It may refer to guests, strangers, ser-
vants, clients, or tenants. The essen-
tial idea is, that they were not perma-
nent residents, though for a time they
were inmates of the family. Jerome
renders the place, Inquilini domus
viea; — the tenants of my house. The
LXX, FffToi'sq oiy.idq — neighbors.
Schultens supposes it means clients,
or those who were taken under the
protection of a great man. He quotes
from the Arabian poets to show that
the word is used in that sense,
and particularly a passage from the
Hamasa, which he thus translates :

Descendite sub alas meas, alasque gentis

meae,
Ut siin praesidium vobis quum pugna ccn-

seritur.
Nainque testanxento injunxit mihi pater, ut

reciperem vos hospites,
Omnemque oppressorem a vobis propulsareiii.

There can be no doubt that Job refers
to dependents., but whether in the ca-
pacity of servants, tenants, or clients,
it is not easy to determine, and is not

16 1 called my servant, and he
gave me no answer : I entreated
him with my mouth.

17 My breath is strange to my
wife, though I entreated for the
children's sake of ' mine own
body.

1 my belly

material. Dr. Good renders it "50-
journers,'^ and this is a correct ren-
dering of the word. This would be
clearly the sense if the corresponding
member of the parallelism were not
" maids," or female servants. That
requires us to understand here persons
who were somehow engaged in the
service of Job, Perhaps his clients,
or those who came for protection,
were under obligation to some sort of
service as the return for his patron-
age. IF And my maids. Female do-
mestics. The Chaldee, however,
renders this ■'rjpnp — my concubines ;
but the correct reference is to female
servants. M I am an alien. That is,
to them. They cease to treat me as
the head of the family.

16. / called my servant. He lost
all respect for me, and paid me no
attention. M I entreated him. 1 ceased
to expect obedience, and tried to see
what persuasion would do. I ceased
to be master in my own house.

17. My breath is strange to my icife.
Schultens renders this, " my breath
is loathsome to my wife," and so also
Noycs. Wemyss translates it, "my
own wife turns aside from my breath."
Dr. Good, " my breath is scattered
away by my wife." The literal
meaning is, "my breath is strange
(iT^;) to my wife," and the idea is,
that there had been such a change in
him from his disease, that his breath
was not that which she had been ac-
customed to breathe without offence,
and that she now turned away from
it as if it werQ the breath of a stranger.
Jerome renders it, Halitum meum
exhorrxdt uxor mea — my wife abhors
my breath. It may be worthy of re-
mark here, that but one wife of Job

262

JOB.

18 Yea, 'young children de-
spised me ; I arose, and they
spake against me.

1 or, the wicked

is mentioned — a remarkable fact, as
he probably lived in an age when
polygamy was common, H 1 entreated
her. I appealed to lier by all that
was tender in the domestic relation,
but in vain. From this it would seem
that even his wife had regarded him
as an object of divine displeasure, and
had also left him to suffer alone.
IF For the children's sake of mine own
body. Mar g. my helhj. There is con-
siderable variety in the interpretation
of this passage. The word rendered
" my own body" C*^?^^) means liter-
ally, my belly , or uwmb ; and Noyes,
Gesenius, and some otiiers, suppose it
means the children of his own mother !
But assuredly this was scarcely an
appeal that Job would be likely to
make to his wife in such circum-
stances. There can be no impropriety
in supposing that Job referred to him-
self, and that the word is used some-
what in the same sense as the word
loins is in Gen. xxxv. 11, xlvi. 26.
Ex. i. 5. 1 Kings viii. 19. Thus un-
derstood, it would refer to his own
children, and the appeal to his wife
was founded on the relation which
they had sustained to them. Though
they were now dead, he referred to
their former united attachment to
them, to the common affliction which
they had experienced in their loss ;
and in view of all their former love
to them, and all the sorrow which
they had experienced in their death,
he made an appeal to his wife to show
him kindness, but in vain. Jerome
renders this, " Orabam filios uteri
mei." The LXX, not understanding
It, and trying to make sense of it,
introduced a statement which is un-
doubtedly false, though RosenmUller
uccords with it. " I called affection-
ately {y.olay.fvon') the sons of my con-
cubines " — vioxk; 7Ta).).o)y.(do)v fiov.
But the whole meaning is evidently
that he made a .solemn and tender

19 All 'my inward friends
abhorred me : and they whom I
loved are turned against me.

2 The men of my secret.

appeal to his wife, in view of all the
joys and sorrows which they had ex-
perienced as the united head of a
family of children now no more.
What w^ould reach the heart of an
estranged wife, if such an appeal
would not .''

18. Fc«, young children. Marg. or
the icicked. This difference between
the text and the margin arises from
the ambiguity of the original word —
n^b'^-ISJ. The word '^^^X (whence
our ;^ord evil) means sometimes the
wicked, or the ungodly, as in Job
xvi. 11. It may also mean a child,
or suckling, (from P'lSJ — to give milk,
to suckle, 1 Sam. vii. 7-10. Gen.
xxiii. 13. Psalm Ixxviii. 71. Isa. xl.
11 ; comp. Isa. xlix. 15, Ixv. 20,) and
is doubtless used in this sense here.
Jerome, however, renders it sttdti —
fool^. The LXX, strangely enough,
" They renounced me for ever."
Dr. Good renders it, " Even the de-
pendents." So Schultens, Etiam
clientes egcntissimi — even the most
needy clients. But the reference is
probabl}' to children who are re])re-
sented as withholding from him the
respect which Avas due to age. IT I
arose., and they spoke against me.
'When I rise up, instead of regarding
and treating me with respect, they
make me an object of contempt and
sport.' Comp. the account of the re-
spect which had formerly been shown
him in ch. xxix. 8.

19. Jlllmyimcard friends. Marg.
the men of my secret. The meaning is,
those who were admitted to the inti-
macy of friendship, or who were per-
mitted to be acquainted with his
secret thoughts, purposes, and plans.
The word here used ("lio) denotes
properly a couch., cushion, pillow, on
which one reclines ; then a divan, a
circle of persons sitting together for
consultation or conversation : and

CHAPTER XIX.

263

20 My " bone cleaveth to my
skin and to my flesh, and I am

a Ps. 102.5.

hence it refers to those wlio are sit-
ting together in intimate counsel,
(see Notes on ch. xv.8, xxix. 4,) and
tiien familiar intercourse, intimacy.
Here tlie phrase " men of my inti-
macy" ^'^'^iO) denotes those who
were admitted to intimate friendship.
All such persons had now forsaken
him, and turned against him.

20. My hone cleaveth to my s Lin and
to my flesh. The meaning of this
probably is, ' my skin and flesh are
dried up so that the bone seems to
adhere to the skin, and so that the
form of the bone becomes visible.'
It is designed to denote a state of
great emaciation, and describes an
effect which we often see. IT .^nd I
am escaped tcith the skin of my teeth.
A very difficult expression, and which
has greatly perplexed commentators,
and on whose meaning they are by
no means agreed. Dr. Good renders
it, " and in the skin of my teeth am I
dissolved ," but what that means is
as difficult of explanation as the ori-
ginal. Noyes, " and I have scarcely
escaped with the skin of my teeth."
Herder, (as translated by Marsh,)
" and scarcely the skin in my teeth
have I brought away as a spoil." He
says that " the figure is taken from the
prey which wild beasts carry in their
teeth ; his skin is his poor and wretch-
ed body, which alone he had escaped
with. His friends are represented
as carnivorous animals which gnaw
upon his skin, upon the poor remnant
of life ;" but the Hebrew will not bear
tins construction. Poole observes,
quaintly enough, that it means, " I
am scarcely sound and whole and
free from sores in any part of my skin,
except that of my jaws, which hold-
eth and covereth the roots of my
teeth. This being, as divers observe,
tne Devil's policy, to leave his mouth
untouched, that he might more freely
express his mind, and vent his blas-
phemies against God, which he sup-

escaped with the skin of my

teeth.

posed sharp pain would force him to
do." Schultens has mentioned four
different interpretations given to the
phrase, none of which seems to be
perfectly satisfactory. They are the
following : (] .) That it means that
the skin about the teeth alone was
preserved, or the gums and the lips, so
that he had the power of speaking,
though every other part was wasted
away, and this exposition is given,
accompanied with the suggestion that
his faculty of speech was preserved
entire by Sa-taUjin order that he might
be able to utter the language of com-
plaint and blasphemy against God.
(2.) That he was emaciated and ex-
hausted completely, except the skin
about his teeth, that is, his lips, and
that by tlieni he was kept alive; that
if it were not for them he could
not breathe, but must soon expire.
(3 ) That the teeth themselves had
fallen out by the force of disease, and
that nothing was left but the gums.
This opinion Schultens himself
adopts. The image, he says, is taken
from pugilists, whose teeth are knock-
ed out by each other ; and the mean-
ing he supposes to be, that Job had
been treated by his disease in the
same manner. So violent had it been
that he had lost all his teeth, and no-
thing was left but his gums. (4.) A
fourth opinion is, that the reference
is to the enamel of the teeth, and that
the meaning is, that such was the
force and extent of his afflictions that
all his teeth became hollow and were
decayed, leaving only the enamel.
It is difficult to determine the true
sense amidst a multitude of learned
conjectures; but probably the most
simple and easy interpretation is the
best. It may mean, that he was al-
most consumed. Disease had preyed
upon his frame until he was wasted
away. Nothing was left but his lips,
or his gums ; he was j ust able to speak,
and that was all. So Jerome renders
it, delicta sunt tantummod6 labia

264

JOB.

21 Have pity upon me, have
pity upon me, O ye my friends ;
fcr the hand of God hath touched
me.

22 Why do ye persecute " me

circa dentes meos. Luther renders
it, und kann meine Zahne mit der
Haut nicht bedecken — " and I cannot
cover my teeth with the skin ;" that
is, with the lips.

21. Have pity on me. A tender,
pathetic cry for sympathy. ' God
has afflicted me, and stripped me of
all my comforts, and I am left a poor,
distressed, forsaken man. I make
my appeal to you, my friends, and
entreat you to have pity ; to sympa-
thize with me, and to sustain me
by the words of consolation.' One
would have supposed that these
words would have gone to the heart,
and that we should hear no more of
their bitter reproofs. But far other-
wise was the fact. H The hand of
God hath touched me. Hath smitten
me ; or is heavy upon me. The
meaning is, that he had been sub-
jected to great calamities by God, and
that it was right to appeal now to his
friends, and to expect their sympathy
and compassion. On the usual mean-
ing of the word here rendered '^ hath
touched' (■'^^^J from ^J^J), see Notes
on Isa. liii. 4.

22. Why do ye persecute me as God ?
As God has done. That is, without
giving me any reason for it; accusing
me of crimes without proof, and con-
demning me without mitigation. That
there is here an improper reflection
on God, will be apparent to all. It
accords^ with what Job frequently ex-
presses where he speaks of him as
judging him severely, and is one of
the instances which prove that he
was not entirely perfect. If And are
not satisfied with my flesh. That is,
are not contented that my body is sub-
jected to inexpressible torments, and
is wholly wasting away, but add to
this the torment of the soul. Why
is it not enough that my body is thus

as God, and are not satisfied with
my flesh ?

23 Oh ' that my words were
now written ! Oh that they were

a Ps. 69 26. 1 who will give.

tormented without adding the severer
tortures of the mind .''

23. Oh that my words were noio
written. Marg. as in Heb., " Who
will give ;'' a common mode of ex-
pressing desire among the Hebrews.
This expression of desire introduces
one of the most important passages in
the book of Job. It is the language of
a man who felt that injustice was done
him by his friends, and that he was
not likely to have justice done hira
by that generation. He was charged
with hypocrisy ; his motives were
called in question ; his solemn ap-
peals, and his arguments to assert his
innocence, were disregarded ; and in
this state of mind he expresses the
earnest wish that his expression,?
might be permanently recorded, and
go down to far distant times. He
desired that what he had said might
be preserved, that future ages might
be able to judge between him and his
accusers, and to know the justice of
his cause. The desire thus expressed
has been granted, and a more perma-
nent record has been made than if, in
accordance with his request, his sen-
timents had been engraved on lead or
stone. H Oh that they were printed.
It is clear that this expression may
convey wholly an erroneous idea.
The art of printing was then un-
known ; and the passage has no al-
lusion to that art. The original word
(PP.^) means properly, to cut in, to
hew; then to cut — e. g.- a sepulchre
in a rock, Isa. xxii. 16i"then to cut,
or engrave letters on a tablet of lead
or stone, Isa. xxx. 8, Ezek. iv. 1, and
generally it implies the notion of en-
graving, or inscribing on a plate witii
an engraving tool. Anciently books
were made of materials which allowed
of this mode of making a record.
Stone would probablj be the first

CHAPTER XIX.

265

material ; and then plates of metal,
leaves, bark, skins, &c. The notion
of engraving, however, is the pro-
per idea here. ^\ In a book — 'nSSS .
The word "^StJ is derived from *^S0 .

In Arabic the kindred word 6^

means to scratch, to scrape ; and
hence to engrave, write, record — and
the idea was originally that of in-
sculping or engraving on a stone.
Hence the word comes to denote a
book, of any materials, or made in
any form. Pliny, speaking of the
materials of ancient books, says,
Olim in palmarum foliis scriptita-
tum, et libris quarundam arborum ;
postea publica monumenta plumbeis
voluminibus, mox et privata linteis
confici coepta aut ceris. Lib. xiii. 11.
" At first men wrote on the leaves of
the palm, or the bark of certain
trees ; but afterwards public docu-
ments were preserved in leaden vo-
lumes [or rolls], and those of a private
nature on wax or linen." " Mont-
faucon purchased at Rome, in 1699,
an ancient book entirely composed
of lead. It was about four inches long
and three inches wide : and not only
were the two pieces that formed the
cover, and the leaves, six in number,
of lead, but also the stick inserted
through the rings to hold the leaves
together, as well as the hinges and
nails. It contained Egyptian Gnostic

figures and unintelligible writing.
Brass, as more durable, was used for
the inscriptions designed to last the
longest, such as treaties, laws, and
alliances. These public documents
were, however, usually written on
large tablets. The style for writing
on brass and other hard substances,
was sometimes tipped with dia-
mond." The meaning of the word
here is evidently a record made on
stone or lead — for so the following
verses indicate. The art of writing
or engraving was known in the time
of Job ; but I do not know that there
is evidence that the art of writing on
leaves, bark, or vellum was yet under-
stood. As boohs in the form in which
they are now were then unknown ;
as there is no evidence that at that
time any thing like volumes or rolls
were possessed ; as the records were
probably preserved on tablets of stone
or lead ; and as the entire description
here pertains to something that was
engraved; and as this sense is con-
veyed by the Arabic verb from which
the word ^5^ , book, is derived, the
word tablet, or some kindred word,
will better express the sense of the
original than book — and I have, there-
fore, used it in the translation. It
may be interesting, however, to see
a speeimen of the mode of writing
OH papyrus, and accordingly I insert
one in this place •

266

JOB.

printed in a book !

2-i That they were graven

with an n-on pen and lead in the
rock for ever !

24. That they rccre graven. Cut in,
or sculptured — as is done on stones.
That they might become thus a
permanent record. H With an iron
pen. A styhis, or an engraving
tool — for so the word (^?) means.

The instrument formerly used for
writing or engraving was a small,
sharp-pointed piece of iron or steel,
that was employed to mark on lead
or stone — somewhat in the form of
small graving tools now. When

CHAPTER XIX.

267

the writing was on wax, the instru-
ment was made with a flat head, that
it could be obliterated by pressing it
on or passing it over the wax. The

following cut from Montfaucon's
Paleographia Graeca, will illustrate
the ancient use of the stylus-

GROUP ILLUSTRATING- THE USE OE THE STYLUS.

The reason why Job mentions the
iron pen here is, that he wished a
pertnanent record. He did not desire
one made with paint or chalk, but
one which would convey his senti-
ments down to future times. TI Arid
lead. That is, either engraved on
lead, or more probably with lead. It
was customary to cut the letters deep
in stone, and then to fill them up
with lead, so that the record became
more permanent. This I take to
be the meaning here. The Hebrew
will scarcely allow of the supposition
that Job meant that the records

should be made on plates of lead —
though such plates were early used,
but perhaps not until after the time
of Job. ir In the rock. It was com-
mon, at an early period, to make in-
scriptions on the smooth surface of a
rock. Perhaps the first that were
made were on stones, which were
placed as way-marks, or monuments
over the dead — as we now make such
inscriptions on grave-stones. Then
it became common to record any me-
morable transaction — as a battle — on
stones or rocks ; and perhaps, also,
sententious and apothegmatical re

268

iOB.

marks were rccnrdecl in tliis manner,
to admonish travellers, or to transmit
them to posterity. Numerous inscrip-
tions of this kind are found by travel-
lers in the East, on tombs, and on
rocks in the desert. All that can be
appropriate here is a notice of such
early inscriptions of that kind in
Arabia, as would render it probable

that they existed in the time of Job,
or such as indicate great antiquity.
Happily we are at no loss for such
inscriptions on rocks in the country
where Job lived. The following cut,
from Laborde, exhibits a view of the
engravings on the rocks in the Wady
Mokatta •

CHAPTER XIX.

261

The Wady Mokatta, the cliffs of
which bear these inscriptions, is a val-
ley entering Wady Sheikh, and bor-
dering the upper regions of the Sinai
mountains. It extends for about three
hours' march, and in most places
its rocks present abrupt cliffs, twenty
or thirty feet liigh. From these cliffs
large masses have separated, and lie
at the bottom of the valley. The
cliffs and rocks are thickly covered
with inscriptions, which are con-
tinued at intervals of a few hundred

paces only, for at least the distance
of two hours and a half. Burckhardt,
in his travels from Akaba to Cairo^
by Mount Sinai, observed many in-
scriptions on the rocks, part of which
he has copied. See his travels in
Syria, Lond. Ed. pp. 506, 581, 582,
606, 613, 614. The following, found
on the stones in the Wady Aleyat,
will give an idea of the appearance
of those inscriptions. Tijey are copied
from Burckhardt's Travels in Syria,
pp. 613, 614.

1. Upon a flat stone, in the upper extremity of the Wady.

2. Upon a small block lower down

'UlJu Ub 0 (fyo ^ If^

3. Upon a small rock still lower down :

i

5(] Ut>u

See other specimens in Burckhardt,
Ibid. Pococke, who also visited the
regions of Mount Sinai in 1777, has
given adesciiption of the inscriptions
which he saw on the rocks at Mount
Sinai. Vol. i. 148, he says, ''There
are on many of the rocks, both near
these mountains and in the road, a

great many inscriptions in an ancient
character; many of them I copied,
and observed that most of them were
not cut, but stained, making the gra-
nite of a lighter color, and where the
stone had scaled, I could see the stain
had sunk into the stone." JXume-
rous specimens of these inscriptions

270

JOB

25 For I know that my Re-
deemer liveth, and that he shall

may be seen in Pococke. Vol. i., p.
148. These inscriptions were also
observed by Robinson and Smith,
and are described by them in Biblical
Researches, vol. i., 108, 118, 119,
123, 161, 167. They are first men-
tioned by Cosmas, about A. D. 535.
He supposed them to be the work
of the ancient Hebrews, and says
that certain Jews, who had read
them, explained them to him as
noting " the journey of such an one,
out of such a tribe, in such a year
and month." They have also been
noticed by many early travellers, as
Neitzschitz, p. 149; Moncongs, i. p.
245; and also by Niebuhr in his
Reisebeschr. i. p. 250. The copies
of them given by Pococke and J\ie-
buhr are said to be very imperfect ;
those by Seetzen are better, and
those made by Burckhardt are toler-
ably accurate. Rob. Bib. Research.
1. 553. A large number of them have
been copied and published by Mr.
Grey, in the Transactions of the
Royal Society of Literature, vol. iii.,
pt. 1, Lond. 1832; consisting of one
hundred and seventy-seven in the
unknown character, nine in Greek,
and one in Latin. These inscrip-
tions, which so long excited the
curiosity of travellers, have been re-
cently deciphered (in the year 1830)
by Professor Beer, of the University
of Leipzig. He had turned his at-
tention to them in the year 1833, but
without success. In the year 1839
his attention was again turned to
them, and after several months of
the most persevering application, he
succeeded in making out the alpha-
bet, and was enabled to read all the
inscriptions which have been copied,
with a good degree of accuracy.
According to the results of this ex-
amination, the characters of the Si-
najlic inscriptions belong to a dis-
tinct and independent alphabet. Some
of the letters are wholly peculiar ;
the others have more or less affinity
with the Palmyrene, and particularly

Stand at the latter day upon the
earth :

with the Estrangelo and the Cufic.
They are written from right to left.
The contents of the inscriptions, bo
far as examined, consist only of
proper names, preceded by a word
which is usually l-?T^, peace, though
occasionally some other word is used.
In one or two instances the name is
followed by a sentence which has
not yet been deciphered. The names
are those common in Arabic. It is a
remarkable fact that not one Jewish
or Christian name has been found.
The question, as to the writers ot
these inscriptions, receives very little
light from their contents. A word
at the end of some of them, may be
so read as to aflirrn tliat they were
pilgrims, and this opinion Professor
Beer adopts ; but this is not certain.
That the writers were Christians^
seems apparent from many of the
crosses connected with the inscrip-
tions. The age, also, of the in-
scriptions, receives no light from
their contents, as no date has yet
been read. Beer supposes that the
greater part of them could not have
been written earlier than the fourth
century. Little light, therefore, is
cast upon the question who wrote
them; what was their design; in
what age they were written, or who
were the pilgrims who wrote them.
See Rob. Bib. Research, i. 552-556.
That there were such records in the
time of Job, is probable.

25. For I knoio that viy Redeemer
liveth. There are few passages in
the Bible which have excited more at-
tention than this, or in respect to
which the opinions of expositors have
been more divided. The importance
of the passage (vs. 25-27) has con-
tributed much to the anxiety to un-
derstand its meaning — since, if it re-
fers to the Messiah, it is one of the
most valuable of all the testimonials
now remaining of the early faith on
that subject. The importance of the
passage will justify a somewhat more

CHAPTER XIX.

271

extended examination of its meaning
than it is customary to give in a com-
mentary of a single passage of Scrip-
ture ; and I sliall (1) give the views
entertained of it by the translators of
the ancient and some of the modern
versions ; (2) investigate the meaning
of the tcords and phrases w^hich oc-
cur in it -, and (3) state the arguments,
pro and con, for its supposed reference
to the Messiah. The Vulgate ren-
ders it, "For I know that my Re-
deemer— Redcniptor me^is — lives, and
that in the lust day I shall rise from
the earth; and again, I shall be en-
veloped—circ«??i^/rt/'9/-— with my skin,
and in my flesh shall I see my
God. Whom I myself shall see, and
my eyes shall behold, and not ano-
ther—this, my hope, is laid up in my
bosom." The LXX translate it, " For
I know that he is Eternal who is
about to deliver me— o fy.lvnv fif
ttflXon' — to raise again upon earth this
skin of mine, which draws up these
things — TO dvai'r).ovr ravta — [the
meaning of wliich, I believe, no one
has ever been able to divine.] For
from the Lord these things have hap-
pened to me of which I alone am
conscious, which my eye has seen,
and not another, and which have all
been done to me in my bosom."
Thompson's trans, in part. The
Syriac is in the main a simple and
correct rendering of the Hebrew.
" I know that mj Redeemer(^-«^oi.s)
liveth, and in the consummation
)|«sa-aLci) he will be revealed upon
the earth, and after my skin I shall
bless myself in these things, and after
my flesh. If my eyes shall see God,
I shall see light." The Chaldee ac-
cords witli our version, except in one
phrase. " And afterwards my skin
shall be inflated, ^=^^3'? t^2P}^?) —
then in my flesh shall I see God." It
will be seen that some perplexity
was felt by the authors of the ancient
versions in regard to the passage.
Much more has been felt by exposi-
tors. Some notices of the views of
the modems, in regard to particular

words and phrases, will be given in
the exposition. TT / know. I am cer-
tain. On that point Job desires to
express the utmost confidence. His
friends might accuse him of hypo-
crisy— they might charge him with
want of piety, and he might not be
able to refute all that they said ; but
in the position referred to here he
would remain fixed, and witii this
firm confidence he would support
iiis soul. It was this which lie wished
to have recorded in the eternal rocks,
that the record might go down to fu-
ture times. If after ages should be
made acquainted with his name and
his snff"eiings— if they should hear of
the charges brought against hiin. and
of the accusations of impiety which
had been so harshly and unfeelingly
urged, he wished that this testimony
might be recorded, to show that he
had unwavering confidence in God.
He wished this eternal record to be
made, to show that he was not a re-
jecter of truth ; that he was not an
enemy of God ; that he had a firm
confidence that God vvould yet come
forth to vindicate him, and would
stand up as his friend. It was a tes-
timony worthy of being held in ever-
lasting remembrance, and one which
has had, and will have, a permanency
much greater than he anticipated.
"W That vuj Redeemer. This impor-
tant word has been variously translat-
ed. RosenmUller and Schultens ren-
der it, vindlcem ; Dr. Good , Redeemer;
Noyes and Wemyss, vindicator ; Her-
der, avenger ,, Luther, Erloser — Re-
deemer ; Chaldee and Syriac, Re-
deemer. The Hebrew word, ^^^ —
Xj-oe/, is from ^^^— i^«^'?, to redeem^
to ransom. It is applied to the re-
demplion of a farm sold, by paying
back the price, Lev. xxv. 25; Ruth
iv. 4,6; to any thing consecrated to
God that is redeemed by paying its
value. Lev. xxvii. 13, and to a slave
that is ransomed. Lev. xxv. 48, 49.
The word "^^^ — god, is applied to
one who redeems a field, Lev. xxv-
26 ; and is often applied to God, who
had redeemed his people from bond-

272

JOB.

age, Ex. VI. 6, Isa. xliii. 1. See
Notes on Isa. xliii. 1 ; and on the gen-
eral meaning of the word, see Notes
on Job iii. 5 Among the Hebrews,
the ?^?5 — gotl occupied an impor-
tant place, as a blood- avenger^ or a
vindicator of violated rights. See
Numb. XXXV. 12, 10, 21, 24, 25, 27,
Deut.xix. 6-12, Ruth iv. 1,6,8, Josh.
XX. 3. The word ^i<'^ — goel, is ren.
dered kinsman^ Ruth iv. 1, 3, 6, 8 ;
near linsman, Ruth iii. 9, 12 ; aven-
ger^ Num. XXXV. 12, Josh. xx. 3; jRe-
deevier^ Job xix. 25, Ps xix. 14, Isa.
xlvii. 4, Ixiii. 16, xliv. 24, xlviii. 17,
liv. 8, xli. 14, xlix. 26, Ix. 16; /.m.
Lev. XXV. 25, et al. JMoses found
the office of the goel, or avenger, al-
ready instituted, (seeMichaelis's Com-
mentary on laws of Moses, § cxxxvi.)
and lie adopted it into his code of
laws. It would seem, therefore, not
improbable that it prevailed in the
adjacent countries in the time of Job,
or that there may have been a refer-
ence to this office in the place before
us. The go&l is first introduced in
the laws of Moses, as ha'ving a right
to redeem a mortgaged field. Lev.
XXV. 25, 26 ; and tlien as having a right,
as kinsman, to the restoration of any
thing which had been iniquitously
acquired. Num. v. 8. Then he is
often referred to in the writings of
Moses as the blood-avenger, or the
kinsman of one who was slain, who
would have a right to pursue the
murderer, and to take vengeance on
him, and whose dutij it would be to
do it. This right of a near relative
to pursue a murderer, and to take
vengeance, seems to have been one
that was early conceded every where.
It was so understood among the Ame-
rican Indians, and probably prevails
in all countries before there are set-
tled laws for the trial and punishment
of the guilty. It was a right, how-
ever, which was liable to great abuse.
Passion would take the place of rea-
son, the innocent would he suspected,
and the man who had slain another
in self-defence was as likely to be
pursued an 1 slain as he who had been

guilty of wilful murder. To guard
against this, in the unsettled state of
jurisprudence, Moses appointed cities
of refuge^ where the man-slayer
might flee until he could have a fkit
opportunity of trial. It was impos-
sible to put an end at once to the
office of the goel. The kinsman, the
near relative, would feel himselfcall-
ed on to pursue the murderer ; but
the man-slayer might flee into a sa-
cred city, and remain until he had a
fair trial. See Num. xxxv. Deut.
xix. 6, 7. It was a humane arrange-
ment to appoint cities of refuge,
where the man who had slain another
might be secure until he had an oppor-
tunity of trial — an arrangement which
eminently showed the wisdom of
Moses. On the rights and duties of
the o"o67, the reader may consul Mi-
chaelis's Com. on the laws of Moses,
art. 136,137. His essential oflice was
that of a vindicator — one who took
up the cause of a friend, whether that
friend was murdered, or was oppress-
ed, or was wronged in any way.
Usually, perhaps always, this per-
tained to the nearest male kin, and was
instituted for the aid of the defence-
less and the wronged. In times long
subscfjuent, a somewhat similar feel-
ing gave rise to the institution of
chivalry, and the voluntary defence
of the innocent and oppressed. It
cannot now be determined whether
Job in this passage has reference to
the office of the goel., as it was after-
wards understood, or whether it ex-
isted in his time. It seems probable
that the office would exist at the
earliest periods of the world, and that
in the rudest stages of society the
nearest of kin would feel himself call-
ed on to vindicate the wrong done to
one of the feebler members of his
family. The word properly denotes,
therefore, either vindicator^ or re-
deemer ; and so far as the tcrrn is con-
cerned, it may refer either to God, as
an avenger of the innocent, or to the
future Redeemer — the Messiah. The
meaning of this word, would be met,
should it be understood as referring
to God, coming forth in a public man-

CHAPTER XIX.

273

ner to vindicate the cause of Job
against all the charges and accusations
of his professed friends ; or to God,
who would appear as his vindicator
at the resurrection ; or to the future
Messiah — the Redeemer of the body
and the soul. No arguvient in fa-
vor of either of these interpretations
can be derived from the use of the
word. ]! Livcth. Is alive — "^H Sept.
immortal — aevvaoq. He seems now to
have forsaken me as if he were dead,
but my faith is unwavering in him as
a living vindicator. A similar ex-
pression occurs in ch. xvi. 19, "My
witness is in heaven, and my record
is on high." It is a declaration of
entire confidence in God, and will
beautifully convey the emotions of
the sincere believer in all ages. He
may be afflicted with disease, or the
loss of property, or be forsaken b}^
his friends, or persecuted by his foes,
but if he can look up to heaven and
say, " I know that my Redeemer
lives," he will have peace. U Jliid
that he shall stand. He will stand
up, as one does who undertakes the
cause of another. Jerome has ren-
dered this as though it referred to
Job, " And in the last day I shall rise
from the earth" — de terra surrecturus
sum — as if it referred to the resurrec-
tion of the body. But this not in ac-
cordance with the Hebrew, (2^p'3) —
"Ae shall stand." There is clearly
no necessary reference in this word
to the resurrection. The simple
meaning is, ' he shall appear, or ma-
nifest himself, as the vindicator of my
cause.' H At the latter day. The word
" day" here is supplied by the trans-
lators. The Hebrev/ is, '■|'i'''n^'J — and
after, afterwards, hereafter, at length.
The word literally means, hinder,
hinder part — opposite to foremost,
former. It is applied to the Mediter-
ranean sea, as being behind when the
eye of the geographer was supposed
to be turned to the East ; (see Notes
on ch. xviii. 20 ;) then it means after,
later, applied to a generation or age.

Ps. xlviii. 14, to a day — to future
times— (Ti'^J^i< ^i^), Prov. xxxi. 25,
Isa. XXX. 8. All that this word ne-
cessarily expresses here is, that at
some future period this would occur.
It does not determine whe7i it v/ould
be. The language would apply to
any future time, and might refer to
the coming of the Redeemer, to the
resurrection, or to some subsequent
period in the life of Job. The mean-
ing is, that however long he was to
sutler, however protracted his ca-
lamities were, and were likely to be,
he had the utmost confidence that
God would at Icngtli, or at some fu-
ture time, come forth to vindicate him.
The phrase, " the latter day," has
now acquired a kind of technical
meaning, by which we naturally re-
fer it to the day of judgment. But
there is no evidence that it has any
such reference here. On the general
meaning of phrases of this kind, how-
ever, the reader may consult my
Notes on Isaiah, ch. ii. 2. TI Ujwn the
earth. Heb. '^SS^'P? — upon the dust.
Why the word dust is used, instead
of (^'^l^^J earth, is unknown. It may
be because the word dust is emphatic,
as being contrasted with heaven, the
residence of the Deity. Koyes. What
kind of an appearance God would
assume when he should thus come
forth, or how he would manifest him-
selfas the vindicator and Redeemer of
Job, he does not intimate, and con
jecture would be useless. The toords
do not necessarily imply any visible
manifestation — though such a mani-
festation would not be forbidden by
the fair constructipn of the passage.
I say, they do not necessarily imply
it. See Psalms xii. 5, " For the sigh-
ing of the needy, now will I arise^
(Heb. stand up—'n^pi^,) saith the
Lord." Ps. xliv. 26, "Arise (Heb
H^^p — stand up) for our help."
Whether this refers to any visible ma-
nifestation in behalf of Job is to be
determined in other modes than by
the mere meaning of this word.

274

JOB.

26 And ' though after my skin

1 or, after I shall awake, though this body be
destroyed, yet out ofmyfiesh shall I see Qod.

26. And though. Marg. Or, after
I shall aif} like, though this body be de-
stroyed, yet out of my flesh shall I see
God. This verse has given not less
perplexity than the preceding. Noyes
renders it,
And though with this skin thijs body be wasted

away,
Yet in my flesh shall I see God.

Dr. Good renders it.

And, after the disease hath destroyed my

skin,
That in my flesh I shall see God.

RosenmUller explains it, " And w^hen
after my skin {soil, is consumed and
destroyed) they consume (scil. those
corroding, or consuming, i. e. it is
corroded, or broken into fragments)
this, that is, this structure of my
bones — my body (which he does not
mention, because it was so wasted
away that it did not deserve to be
called a body) — yet without my flesh
— with my whole body consumed,
shall I see God." He translates it,

Et quum post cutem meara hoc fuerit con-

sumptum,
Tamen absque came mea videbo Deum.

The Hebrew is literally, ' and after
my skin.' Gesenius translates it,
" After they shall have destroyed my
skin, this shall happen — that 1 will
see God." Herder renders it,
Though they tear and devour this my skin,
Yet in my living body shall I see God.

The fair and obvious meaning, I
think, is that which is conveyed by
our translation. Disease had attack-
ed his skin. It was covered with
ulcers, and was fast consuming.
Comp. ch. ii. 8, vii. 5. This process
of corruption and decay he had
reason to expect would go on until
all would be consumed. But if it
did, he would hold fast his confidence
in God. He would believe that he
would come forth as his vindicator,
and he would still put his trust in
him. II Worms. This word is sup-
plied by our translators. There is
not a semblance of it in the origi-
nal. That is, simply, ' they destroy ;'

worms destroy this body, yet in
my flesh " shall I see ^ God :

a i Co, 15. 53. b 1 Jno. 3. 2.

where the verb is used impersonally,
meaning that it would be destroyed.
The agent by which this would be
done is not specified. The word
rendered ' destroy' (^S|53 from '^p.\)^
means to cut, to strike", to cut down
(comp. Notes on ch. i. 5, for the gen-
eral meaning of the word), and here
means to destroy ; that is, that the
work of destruction might go on un-
til the frame should be wholly wasted
away. It is not quite certain that
the word here would convey the
idea that he expected to die. It ^nay
mean that he would become entirely
emaciated, and all his flesh be gone.
There is nothing, liowever, in the
word to show that he did not expect
to die — and perhaps that would be
the most obvious and proper inter-
pretation. Tl TAi^ body. The word
body is also supplied by the transla-
tors. The Hebrew is simply r\KT —
this. Perhaps he pointed to his body
— for there can be no doubt that his
body or flesh is intended. Rosen-
mUller supposes that he did not men-
tion it, because it was so emaciated
that it did not deserve to be called a
body. IT Yet in my flesh. Heb.
"From my flesh" — '^'ibs^ , Herder
renders this, " In my living body."
Rosenmiiller, absque curne viea —
"without my flesh;" and explains
it as meaning, ' my whole body be-
ing consumed, I shall see God.' The
literal meaning is, ' from, or out
of, ni}'^ flesh shall I see God.' It
does not mean iii liis flesh, which
would have been expressed by the
preposition 2 — but there is the notion
that /r(»??i or 'ou« of his flesh he would
see him ; that is, clearly, as Rosen-
mUller has expressed it, though my
body be consumed, and I have Tio
flesh, I shall see him. Disease might
carry its fearful ravages through all
his frame, until it utterly wasted
away, yet he had confidence that he
would see his Vindicator and Re*

CHAPTER XIX.

275

27 Whom I shall see for my-
self, and mine eyes shall behold,

1 a stranger. 2 or, my reins within me are
consumed with earnest desire for that day.

and not ^ another ; though ^ my
reins be consumed ^ within me.

3 in my bosom.

deemer on the earth. It cannot bo
proved that this refers to the resur-
rection of that body, and indeed the
natural interpretation is against it.
It is, rather, that thougii without a
body, or though his body should all
waste away, he would see God as
his vindicator. He would not always
be left overwiielnied in this manner
witli calamities and reproaches. He
would be permitted to see God
coming forth as his Gocl or Avenger,
and manifesting himself as his friend.
Calmly, therefore, he would bear
these reproaches and trials, and see
his frame waste away, for it would
not always be so — God would yet
undertake and vindicate his cause.
IT Shall I see God. He would be
permitted to behold him as /unfriend
and avenger. What was the nature
of the vision which he anticipated, it
is not possible to determine with cer-
tainty. Ifhe expected that God would
appear in some remarkable manner to
judge the world, and to vindicate the
cause of the oppressed ; or that he
would come forth in a special manner
to vindicate //i!5 cause ; or ifhe looked
to a general resurrection, and to the
trial on that day, the language would
apply to either of these events.

27. Whom I shall sec for myself . It
will not come to me by mere report.
I shall not merely hear of the deci-
sion of God in my favor, but I shall
myself behold him He will at length
come forth, and I shall be permitted
to see him, and shall have the delight-
ful assurance that he settles this con-
troversy in my favor, and declares
that I am his friend. Job was thus
permitted to see God (ch. xlii. 5),
and hear his voice in his favor. He
spake to him from the whirlwind
(ch. xxxviji. 1), and pronounced the
sentence in his favor which he had
desired. H And not ayiother. Marg.
a stranger. So in the Hebrew. The
meaning is, that his oxen eyes would

be permitted to sec him. He would
have the satisfaction of seeing God
himself, and of hearing the sentence
in his favor. That expectation he
deemed worthy of a permanent re-
cord, and wished it transmitted to
future times, that in iiis darkest days
and severest trials — when God over-
whelmed him, and man forsook him,
he still firmly maintained his confi-
dence in God, and his belief tliat he
would come forth to vindicate his
cause. ^ Though my reins. The
margin renders this, " my reins ivithin
me are consumed with earnest de-
sire for that day." Noyes translates
it, " For this my soul panteth within
me." Herder,

I shall see him as my deliverer,
Mine eyes shall behold him, as mine,
For whom my heart so long fainted.

So Wemyss, " My reins faint with
desire of his arrival." Jerome ren-
ders it {Vulgate)., rcposita est hcec
spes mea in sinu meo — " this, my
hope, is laid up in my bosom."
The LXX, " All which things have
been done — oin'T^rtlforai, — in my
bosom," but what they understood
by this it is difficult to say. The
word rendered reins ('^'IJ^'^ — or in
the plural J^'i'^^2 — in which form only
it is found), means properly the reins,
or the kidneys (Job xvi. 13), and
then comes to denote the inward
parts, and then the seat of the desires
and affections, bccavse in strong emo-
tions the inward parts are affected.
We speak of the heart as the seat of
the atlections, but with no more pro-
priety than the Hebrews did of the
upper viscera in general, or of the
reins. In the Scriptures the heart
and the reins are united as the seat
of the affections. Thus, Jer. xi. 20,
God " tricth the reins and the heart."
Jer. xvii. 10, xx. 12. Ps. vii. 10. I
see no reason why the word here
may not be used to denote the viscera

276

JOB.

in general, and that the idea may be,
that he felt that his disease was in-
vading the seat of life, and his body,
in all its parts, was wasting away.
Onr word vitals, perhaps, expresses
the idea. H Be consumed. Gesenius
renders this, " Pine away." So
Noyes, Wemyss, and some others.
But the proper meaning of the word
IS, to consume, to be wasted, to be
destroyed. The word ("^^S) strictly
means to finish, complete, render en-
tire ; and thence has the notion of
completion or finishing — whether by
making a thing perfect, or by destroy-
ing it. It is used with reference to
the eyes that fail or waste away with
weeping, Lam. ii. 11, or to the spirit
or heart as fainting with grief and
sorrow. Ps. Ixxxiv. 3, cxliii. 7, Ixix.
4 It is used often in the sense of
destroying. Jer. xvi. 4. Ezra v. 13.
Ps. xxxix. ]l. Isa. xxvii. 10, xlix.
4. Gen. xli. 30. Jer. xiv. 12, et scejje
al. This, I think, is the meaning
here. Job affirms that his whole
frame, external and internal, was
wasting away, yet he had confidence
that he would see God. II Within
we. Marg. in iny hosom. So the
Hebrew. The word bosom is here
used as we use the word chest — and
is not improperly rendered ' within
me.' In view of this exposition of
the words, I would translate the
whole passage as follows :

For I know that my Avenger liveth,

And that hereafter he sliall stand upon the

earth ;
And though after my skin this [flesh] shall be

destroyed,
Yet even without my flesh shall I see God :
Whom I shall see for myself,
And mine eyes shall behold, and not another,
Though my vitals are wasting away within me.

It has already been observed, that
very various views have been enter-
tained of this important passage of
Scripture. The great question has
been, whether it refers to the Mes-
siah, and to the resurrection of the
dead, or to an expectation which Job
had that God would come forth as his
vindicator in some such way as he is
declared afterwards to have done. It
may be proper, therefore, to give a

summary of the arguments by which
these opinions would be defended. 1
have not found many arguments stat-
ed for the former opinion, though the
belief is held by many, but they would
be probably such as the follovCing : —
I. Arguments which would be
adduced to show that the passage re-
fers to the Messiah and to the future
resurrection of the dead. (1.) The
language which is used is such as
would appropriately describe such
events. This is undoubted, though
more so in our translation than in the
original ; but the original would ap-
propriately express such an expecta-
tion. (2.) The impression which it
would make on the mass of readers,
and particularly those of plain, sober
sense, who had no theory to defend.
It is probably a fact, that the great
body of the readers of the Bible sup-
pose that it has such a reference. It
is usually a very strong presumptive
proof of the correctness of an inter-
pretation of Scripture when this can
be alleged in its favor, though it is
not an infallible guide. (3.) The
probability that some knowledge of
the Messiah would prevail in Arabia
in the time of Job. This must be ad-
mitted, though it cannot be certainly
demonstrated. Comp. Num. xxiv.
17. The amount of this is, that it
could not be regarded as so improba-
ble that any such knowledge would
prevail as to demonstrate certainly
that this could not be referred to the
Messiah. (4.) The probability that
there would be found in this book
some allusion to the Redeemer — the
great hope of the ancient saints, and
the burden of the Old Testament.
But this is not conclusive, or very
weighty, for there are several of the
books of the Old Testament which
contain no distinct allusion to him.
(5.) The pertinency of such a view to
the case, and its adaptedness to give to
Job the kind of consolation which he
needed. There can be no doubt ot
the truth of this ; but the question is,
not what would have imparted conso-
lation, but what knowledge he actu-
ally had. There are many of the

CHAPTER XIX.

J271

doctrines of the Christian religion
which would have been eminently
fitted to give comfort in such circum-
stances to a man in affliction, which
it would be exceedingly unreasonable
to expect to find in the book of Job,
and which it is certain were wholly
unknown to him and his friends.
(6.) The importance which he himself
attached to his declaration, and the
solemnity of the manner in which he
introduced it. His profession of faith
on the subject he wished to have
engraved in the eternal rocks. He
wished it transmitted to future times.
He wished a permanent record to be
made, that succeeding ages might
read it, and see the ground of his con
fidence and his hope. This, to my
mind, is the strongest argument which
has occurred in favor of the opinion
that the passage refers to the Re
deemer and to the resurrection.
These are all the considerations
which have occurred to me, or which
I have found stated, which would go
to sustain the position that the pas- |
sage referred to the resurrection. |
Some of them have weight; but the {
prevailing opinion, that the passage j
has such a reference, will be found to j
be sustained, probably, more hij the !
feelings of piety than by solid argu- I
ment and sound exegesis. It is fa- !
vored, doubtless, by our common ver- |
sion, and there can be no doubt that i
the translators supposed that it had
such a reference.

n. On the other hand, weighty
considerations are urged to show that
the passage does not refer to the Mes-
siah, and to the resurrection of the
dead. They are such as the follow-
ing :

(] .) The language, fairly interpret-
ed and translated, does not necessa-
rily imply this. It is admitted that
our translators had this belief, and
without doing intentional or actual
violence to the passage, or designing
to make a forced translation, they
have allowed their feelings to give a
complexion to their language which
the original does not necessarily con-
vey Hence, the word *' Redeemer,"
]8

which is now used technically to de-
note the Messiah, is employed, though
the original may, and commonly doi^^
have a much more general significa-
tion ; and hence, the phrase " at the
latter day," also a technical phrase,
occurs, though the original means no
more than afterwards, or after this ,
and hence, they have employed the
phrase "in my flesh," though the
original means no more than ' though
my flesh be all wasted away.' The
following I believe to express fairly
the meaning of the Hebrew ; ' I knovv
that my deliverer, or avenger, lives,
and that he will yet appear in some
public manner on the earth ; and
though after the destruction of my
skin, the process of corruption shall go
on till all my flesh shall be destroyed,
yet when my flesh is entirely wasted
away, I shall see God ; I shall have
the happiness of seeing him for my-
self, and beholding him with my own
eyes, even though my very vitals shall
be consumed. He will come and
vindicate me and my cause. I have
such confidence in his justice, that I
do not doubt that he will yet show
himself to be the friend of him who
puts his trust in him.'

(2.) It is inconsistent with the ar-
gument, and the whole scope and
connection of the book, to sup-
pose that this refers to the Messiah
and to the resurrection of the body
after death. The book of Job is
strictly an argument — a train of clear,
consecutive reasoning. It discusses
a great inquiry about the doctrines of
divine Providence and the divine
dealings with men. The three friends
of Job maintained that God deals with
men strictly according to their char-
acter in this life — that eminent wick-
edness is attended with eminent suf-
fering ; and that when men experience
any great calamity, it is proof of emi-
nent wickedness. All this they
meant to apply to Job, and all this
Job denied. Yet he was perplexed
and confounded. He did not know
what to do with the facts in the case ;
but still he felt embarrassed. All
that he could say was, that God would

378

JOB.

yet come forth, and show himself to
be the friend of those who ioved him,
aiid that though they suffered now,
yet he had confidence that he would
appear for their relief. Now, had
they possessed the knowledge of tlie
doctrine of the resurrection of the
dead, it would have ended the whole
debate. It would not only have met
all the difficulties of Job, but we
should have found him perpetually
recurring to it — placing it in every
variety of form — appealing to it as
relieving his embarrassments, and a.3 j
demanding an answer from his friends. !
But, on the supposition that this re- j
fers to the resurrection, it is remark- j
able that the passage here stands |
alone. Job never adverted to it be-
fore, but allowed himself to be great- ,
ly embarrassed for the want of just
such an argument, and he never re-
fers to it again. He goes on to argue
again as if he believed no such doc-
trine. He does not ask his friends to
notice this ; he expresses no surprise
that they should pass by in entire
neglect an argument which must have
been seen to be decisive of the con-
troversy. It is equally unaccountable
that his friends should not have no-
ticed it. If the doctrine of the resur-
rection was true, it settled the case.
It rendered all their arguments worth-
less, and would have met the case
just as we meet similar cases now. It
was incumbent on them to show that
there was no evidence of the truth of
any such doctrine as the resurrection,
and that this could not be urged to
meet their arguments. Yet they never
allude to so important and unanswer-
able an argument, and evidently did
not suppose that Job referred to any
such event. It is equally remarkable
that neither Elihu nor God himself,
in the close of the book, make any
such allusion, or refer to the doctrine
of the resurrection at all, as meeting
the difficulties of the case. In the
argument with which the Almighty
is represented as closing the book, the
whole thing is resolved into a matter
o^ sovereignty, and men are required
to submit because God is great, and

is inscrutable in hi.s ways — not be-
cause the dead will be raised, and the
inequalities of the present life will be
recompensed in a future state. The
doctrine of a resurrection — a great
and glorious doctrine, such as, if once
suggested, could not have escaped
the profound attention of these snge^ —
would have solved the whole diffi-
culty ; and yet, confessedly, it is uever
alluded to by them — never introduc-
ed— never examined — never admit-
ted or rejected — never becomes a
matter of inquiry, and is never re-
ferred to by God himself as settling
the matter — never occurs in the book
in any form, unless it be in this.
This is wholly unaccountable on the
supposition that this refers to the re-
surrection.

(3 ) The interpretation which re-
fers this to the resurrection of the
dead, is inconsistent with numerous
passages where Job expresses a con-
trary belief. Of this nature are the
following: ch. vii. 1), "As the cloud
is consumed, and vanisheth away, so
he that goeth down to the grave shall
come up no more :" vii. 21, "I shall
sleep in the dust — thou shalt seek me
in the morning, but I shall not be."
See ch. x. 21, 22, " I go whence I
shall not return — to the land of dark-
ness, and the shadow of death ; a land
of darkness as darkness itself" Ch.
xiv. throughout, particularly vs. 7, 9,
11, 12, " For there is hope of a tree,
if it be cut down, that it will sprout
again, and that the tender branch
thereof will not cease. But man
dieth, and wasteth away ; yea, man
giveth up the ghost, and where is he ^
As the waters fail from the sea, and
the flood decayeth and drieth up, so
man lieth down and riseth not — till
the heavens be no more, they shall
not awake, nor be raised out of their
sleep." Ch. xvi. 22, "When a few
years are come, then I shall go the
way whence I shall not return.'
These passages all imply that when
he should die, he would not appear
again on the earth. This is not such
language as one would use who be-
lieved in the resurrection of the dead.

CHAPTER XIX.

279

It is true, that in the discourses of
Job, various and sometimes apparent-
ly contradictory feelings are express-
ed. He was a severe suflerer; and
under strong conflicting emotions he
sometimes expressed himself in a
manner vvliich he at other times re-
grets, and gives vent to feelings which,
on mature reflection, he confesses to
have been wrong. But liow \s\t pos-
sible to believe that a man, in his cir-
cumstances, would ever deny the
doctrine of the resurrection if he held
it ? How could he forget it .'' How
could he throw out a remark that
seemed to imply a doubt of it .'' If he
Jiad known of this, it would have been
a sheet-anchor to his soul in all the
storms of adversity — an unanswera-
ble argument to all that his friends
advanced — a topic of consolation
which he could never have lost sight
of, much less denied. He would have
clung to that hope as the refuge of
iiis soul, and not for one moment
would he have denied it, or expressed
a doubt of its truth.

(4.) I may urge as a distinct argu-
ment what has before been hinted at,
that this is not referred to as a topic
of consolation by either of the friends
of Job, by Elihu, or by God himself.
Had it been a doctrine of those times,
his friends would have understood
it, and it would have reversed all
tiieir theology. Had it been under-
stood by Eliliu, he would have urged
it as a reason for resignation in afflic-
tion. Had God designed that it
should be known in that age, no more
favorable opportunity could be con-
ceived for the purpose than at the
end of the arguments in this book.
What a flood of light would it have
lluown on tlie design of afflictions !
How eflectually would it have re-
buked the arguments of the friends of
•lob ! And liow clear is it, therefore,
that God did not intendilmt it should
then be revealed to man, but meant
that it should be reserved for a more
advanced state of the world, and par-
ticularly that it should be reserved as
the grand doctrine of the Christian
revelation.

(5.) A fiflA consiJeration is, that
on the supposition that it refers to
the resurrection, it would be incon-
sistent with the views which prevail-
ed in the age when Job is supposed
to have lived. It is wholly in ad-
vance of that age. It makes little
diflerence in regard to this whether
we suppose him to have lived in the
time of Abraham, Jacob, or Moses,
or even at a later period — such a sup-
position would be equally at variance
with the revelations which had then
been given. The clear doctrine of the
resurrection of the dead, is one of the
peculiar doctrines of Christianity —
one of the last truths of revelation,
and is one of the glorious truths which
seem to have been reserved for the
Redeemer himself to make known to
man. There are, indeed, obscure
traces of it in the Old Testament.
Occasionally we meet with a hint on
the subject that was sufficient to ex-
cite the hopes of the ancient saints,
and to lead them to suppose that
more glorious truths were in reserve
to be communicated by the Messiah.
But those hints occur at distant in-
tervals ; are obscure in their charac-
ter, and perhaps if all in the Old Tes-
tament were collected, they would
not be suflicient to convey any very
intelligible view of the resurrection
of the dead. But on the supposition
that the passage before us refers to
that doctrine, we have here one of the
most clear and full revelations on the
subject, laid far back in the early
ages of the world, originating in Ara-
bia, and entirely in advance of the
prevailing views of the age, and of
all that had been comnumic"ated by
the Spirit of inspiration to the gener-
ations then living. It is admitted,
indeed, that it was possible for the
Holy Spirit to communicate that
truth in its fulness and completeness
to an Arabian sage ; but it is not the
way in which revelation, in other re
spects, has been imparted. It has been
done gradiialhj. Obscure intima
tions are given at first — they are in-
creased from time to time — the ligh-
becomes clearer, till some prophet

2$0

JOB.

discloses the whole truth, and the
doctrine stands complete before us.
Such a course we should expect to
find in regard to the doctrine of the
resurrection, and such is exactly the
course pursued, unless this passage
teaches what was in fact the highest
revelation made by the Messiah.

(6.) All which the words and
phrases fairly convey, and all which
the argument demands, is fully met
by the supposition that it refers to
some such event as is recorded in the
close of the book. God appeared in
a manner corresponding to the mean-
ing of the words here upon the
earth. He came as the Vindicator,
the Redeemer, the Go67, of Job. He
vindicated his cause, rebuked his
friends, expressed his approbation of
the sentiments of Job, and blessed
him again with returning prosperity
and plenty. The disease of the pa-
triarch may have advanced, as he
supposed it would. His flesh may
have wasted away, but his confidence
in God was not misplaced, and he
came forth as his vindicator and
friend. It was a noble expression of
faith on the part of Job ; it showed
that he had confidence in God, and
that in the midst of his trials he truly
relied on him ; and it was a sentiment
worthy to be engraved in the eternal
rock, and to be "transmitted to future
times. It was an invaluable lesson
to sufferers, showing them that con-
fidence could, and should be placed
in God in the severest trials. So far
as I can see, all that is fairly implied
in the passage, when properly inter-
preted, is fully met by the events re-
corded in the close of the book.
Such an interpretation meets the exi-
gency of the case, accords with the
strain of the argument and Vv^ith the
result, and is the most simple and
natural that has been proposed.
These considerations are so weighty
in my mind that they have conducted
me to a conclusion, contrary I con-
fess to what I had hoped to have
reached, that this passage has no re-
ference to the Messiah and the doc-
trine of the resurrection. We do

not 7ieed it— for all the truths respect-
ing the Messiah and the resurrection
which we need, are fully revealed
elsewhere; and though this is an ex-
quisitely beautiful passage, and piety
would love to retain the belief that it
refers to the resurrection of the dead,
yet truth is to be preferred to indul-
gence of the wishes and desires of
the heart, however amiable or pious,
and the desire to find certain doc-
trines in the Bible should yield to
what we are constrained to believe
the Spirit of inspiration actually
taught. I confess that I have never
been so pained at any conclusion to
which I have come in the interpreta-
tion of the Bible, as in the case be-
fore us. I would like to have found
a distinct prophecy of the Messiah
in this ancient and venerable book.
I would like to have found the faith
of this eminent saint sustained by
such a faith in his future advent and
incarnation. I would like to have
found evidence that this expectation
had become incorporated in the piety
of the early nations, and was found
in Arabia. I would like to have
found traces of the early belief of
the doctrine of the resurrection of the
dead sustaining the souls of the
patriarchs then, as it does ours now,
in trial. But I cannot. Yet I can
regard it as a most beautiful and tri-
umphant expression of confidence in
God, and as wholly worthy to be en-
graved, as Job desired it might be, in
the solid rock for ever, that the pass-
ing traveller might see and read it ;
or as worthy of that more permanent
record which it has received by being
<■'■ printed in a book" — by an art un-
known then, and sent down to the
end of the world to be read and ad-
mired in all gonerations.

The opinion which has now been
expressed, it is not necessary to say,
has been held by a large number of
the most distinguished critics. Grotius
says that the Jews never applied it to
the Messiah and the resurrection.
The same opinion is held by Grotius
himself, by Warburton, RosenmOller,
Le Clerc, Patrick, Kennicott, Dalthe,

CHAPTEP. XIX.

281

28 But ye should say, Why
persecute we him ? ' seeing the
root of the matter is found in
me.

1 or, and what root of matter is found in me.

and Jahn. Calvin seems to be doubt-
ful— sometimes giving it an interpre-
tation similar to tliat suggested above,
and then pursuing his remarks as if
it referred to the Messiah. Most of
the fathers, and a large portion of
modern critics, it is to be admitted,
suppose that it refers to the Messiah,
and to the future resurrection.

28. But ye should say. Noyes ren-
ders this, " Since ye say, ' How may
we persecute him, and find grounds of
accusation against him ?' " Dr. Good,

Then sliall ye say, " How did wg persecute

liim.?'"'
Wlien the root of the matter is disclosed in

me.

The Vulgate, " Why now do ye say,
let us persecute him, and find ground
of accusation — radkcmverhi — against

'' The LXX, " If you also say.

What shall we say against him ? and
what ground of accusation — oCQav
Ao^'ni'— shall we find in him.?" Rosen-
muller renders it, " When you say,
let us persecute him, and see what
ground of accusation we can find in
him, then fear the sword." Most
critics concur in such an interpreta-
tion as implies that they had sought
a ground of accusation against him,
and that they would have occasion to
fear the divine displeasure on ac-
count of it. It seems to mc, how-
ever, that our translators have given
substantially the fair sense of the
Hebrew. A slight variation would,
perhaps, better express the idea : ' For
you will yet say, Why did we perse-
cute him .'' The root of the matter
was found in him — and since this
will be the case, fear now that justice
will overtake you for it, for vengeance
will not always slumber when a
friend of God is wronged.' IT Seeing
the root of the matter. Marg. and
what root of matter is found in me.

The word rendered matter ('^^'^)

29 Be ye afraid of the sword t
for wrath hringcth the punish-
ments of the sword, that " ye may
know there is a judgment.

a Ps. 58. 10, 11.

means, properly, xcord or thing — and
may refer to any thing. Here it is
used in one of the two opposite
senses, piety or guilt — as being ihe
thing under consideration. The in-
terpretation to be adopted must de-
pend on the view taken of the other
words of the sentence. To me it
seems that it denotes piety, and that
the idea is, that the root of true piety
was in him, or that he was not a
hypocrite. The word root is so com-
mon as to need no explanation. It
is used sometimes to denote the bot-
tom., or the lowest part of any thing
— as e. g. the foot (see ch xiii. 27,
margin), i\iG bottom of the mountains
(Job xxviii. 9), or of the sea. Job
xxxvi. 30, margin. Here it means
the foundation, support, or source —
as the root is of a tree ; and the sense,
I suppose, is, that he was not a dead
trunk, but he was like a tree that had
a root, and consequently support and
life. Many critics, however, among
whom is Gcsenius, suppose that it
means that the root of the contro-
versy, that is, the ground of strife,
was in him., or that he was the cause
of the whole dispute.

29. Be ye afraid of the sword. Of
the sword of justice, of the wrath of
God. In taking such views, and
using such language, you ought 40
dread the vengeance of God, for he
will punish the guilty. IF For tcrath
bringeth the punishments of the
sioord. The word ' bringeth'' is sup-
plied by the translators, and as it
seems to me improperly. The idea
is, that wrath or anger, such as they
had manifested, was proper for pun-
ishment ; that such maHce as they
had shown was a crime that God
would not suff'er to escape unpun-
ished. They had, therefore, every
thing to dread. Literally it is, ' for
wrath the iniquities of the sword 3'

282

JOB.

that is, wrath is a crime for the sword.
IT That ye may know that there is a
judgment. That there is justice;
that God punishes injuries done to
the character, and tliat he will come
forth to vindicate his friends. Proba-
bly Job anticipated that when God
should come forth to vindicate him^
he would inflict exemplary punish-
ment on them ; and that this would
be not only by words, but by some
heavy judgment, such as he had him-

self experienced. The vindication
of the just is commonly attended
with the punishment of the unjust;
the salvation of the friends of God is
connected with the destruction of his
foes. Job seems to have anticipated
this in the case of himself and his
friends; it will certainly occur in the
great day when the affairs of this
world shall be wound up in the de-
cisions of the final judgment. See
Matth.xxv.

CHAPTER XX.

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER.

ZopHAF, the third of the friends of Job, replies. He is not moved to compassion by the ten-
der appeals of Job in the previous chapter, but seems rather provoked and urged on by the
Bolemn warning with which Job concluded his discourse. He begins (vs. 1-3) by stating the
reasons which induced him to reply at all, the principal of which was, the injurious reproach
and threat with which Job had concluded his speech, and then proceeds with the main topic of
the argument, that calamity must be, and always had been, the lot of the wicked, vs. 4-29.
He says, that it had been the settled course of events from the beginning of the world that the
triumphing of the wicked would be short, and then proceeds to show this by striking images
and examples. The point of his remarks is, that it was no matter liow high a wicked man was
exalted, he would be suddenly brought low ; no matter what comforts he drew around him,
they would be suddenly stripped away ; no matter how much he obtained by oppression and
fraud, he would not be permitted to enjoy it; and no matter how much he endeavored to
conceal his guilt, the heavens would reveal it, and would show his true character to the world.
All this he doubtless intended should be applied to Job, and the application was so obvious to
the circumstances of the case, that it could not fail to be made, 'i'he speech is remarkable for
severity, and remarkable because it does not notice the solemn profession of confidence in God
which Job had made in the previous chapter, (vs. 25-27,) further than that it is implied all
along in this speech that his belief was, that the wicked, once cast down, would not be restored.
Had the solenm profession of Job there referred to the Messiah and the resurrection, it is hardly
conceivable that it should not have been noticed in this reply. It is, indeed, remarkable, on
any supposition, that he did not refer to it, or that even Job did not refer to it again.

n^HEN answered Zophar the
-*- Naamathite, and said,
2 Therefore do my thoughts

2. Therefore. ",2^ . In view of
what has been just said. Or perhaps
the word means merely certainly^
truly. IT Do m.y thoughts cause m,e to
anstcer. This is variously rendered.
The Vulgate renders it, Idcirco cogi-
tationes meaj variaj saccodunt sibi,
et mens in diversa rapitur — " There-

cause me to answer, and for this
' I make haste.

1 my haste is in me.

fore my various thoughts follow on
in succession, and the mind is dis-
tracted." The LXX, " I did not
suppose that thou wouldst speak
against these things, and you do not
understand more than I." How this
was ever made from the Hebrew it is
impossible to say. On the word

CHAPTER XX.

283

3 I have heard the check of
my reproach, and the spirit of
my understanding causeth me to
answer.

4 Knowest thou not this of

1 frovi near.

a Malt. 7. 21.

thoughts^ see Notes on ch. iv. 13.
The word denotes thoughts which
divide and distract the mind ; not
calm and collected reflections, but
those which disturb, disconcert, and
trouble. He acknowledges that it was
not calm reflection which induced
him to reply, but the agitating emo-
tions produced by the speech of Job.
The word rendered ' cause me to an-
swer' p3!in'iT2:'i) means 'cause me
to return' — and Jerome understood it
as meaning that his thoughts returned
upon him in quick and troublesome
succession, and says in his Commen-
tary on Job, that the meaning is, " I
am troubled and agitated because you
say that you sustain these evils from
God without cause, when nothing
evil ought to be suspected of God."
If And^for this I make haste. Marg.
my haste is in me. The meaning is,
' the impetuosity of my feelings urges
me on. I reply on account of the
agitation of my soul, which will ad-
mit of no delay.' His heart was full,
and he hastened to give vent to his
feelings in impassioned and earnest
language.

3. I have heard the check of my re-
proach. I have heard your violent
and severe language reproaching
us. Probably he refers to what Job
had said in the close of his speech
(ch. xix. 29), that they had occasion
to dread the wrath of God, and that
they might anticipate heavy judg-
ments as the result of their opinions.
Or it may be, as Schultens supposes,
that he refers to what Job said in ch.
xix. 2, and the rebuke that he had ad-
ministered there. Or possibly, and
still more probably, I think, he may
refer to what Job had said in reply to
the former speech of Zophar (ch. xii.
2), where he tauntingly says that

old, since man was placed upon
earth,

5 That the triumphing of the
wicked is short, ^ and the joy of
the hypocrite but for a " mo-
ment ?

" they were the people, and that
wisdom would die with them." The
Hebrew literally is, ' the correction
of my shame' C^P^^ '^^^^), that is,
the castigation or rebuke which tends
to cover me with ignominy. The
sense is, ' you have accused me of
that which is ignominious and shame-
ful, and under the impetuous feelings
caused by such a charge, I cannot re-
frain from replying.' TI And the spirit
of my understanding . Meaning, per-
haps, ' the emotion of his mind.'
The word mind or soul would better
express the idea than the word under-
standing ; and the word sjnrit here
seems to be used in the sense of
violent or agitating emotions — per-
haps in allusion to the primary signi-
fication of the word (D^"^) wind.

4. Knowest thou not this of old.
That is, dost thou not know that this
has always happened from the begin-
ning of the world, or that this is the
invariable course of events. His pur-
pose is to show that it was the settled
arrangement of Providence that the
wicked would be overtaken with sig-
nal calamity. It was so settled that
Job ought not to be surprised that it
had occurred in his case. Zophar
goes OS to show that though a wicked
man might rise high in honor, and
obtain great wealth, yet that the fall
would certainly come, and he would
sink to a depth of degradation corres-
ponding to the former prosperity.
IT Since man teas placed upon earth.
Since the creation ; that is, it has al-
ways been so.

5. That the triumphing. The word
'triumphing' here ('^5'") means shout-
ing, rejoicing — such a shouting as
men make after a victory, or such as
occurred at the close of harvesting.
Here it means that the occasion which

284

JOB

6 Though <* his excellency

a Is. 14. 13, 14 1 cloud.

the wicked had for rejoicing would
be brief. It would be but for a mo-
ment, and he then would be over-
whelmed with calamity or cut off by
death. TT Short. Marg. as in Heb.
fromnear. That is, it would be soon
over. TI Jlnd the joy of the hypocrite
but for a moment? This probably
means, as used by Zopliar, that the
happiness of a hypocrite would be
brief — referring to the happiness
arising from the possession of health,
life, property, friends, reputation.
Soon God would take away all these,
and leave him to sorrow. This, he
said, was the regular course of events
a.=? they l»ad been observed from the
earliest times. But the language
conveys most important truths in re-
ference to the spiritual joys of the
hypocrite at all times, though it is
not certain that Zophar used it in
this sense. The truths are these.
(1.) There is a kind of joy which a
hypocrite may have — the counterfeit
of that which a true Christian pos-
sesses. The word hypocrite may be
used in a large sense to denote the
man who is a professor of religion,
but who has none, as well as him
who intentionally imposes on others,
and who makes pretensions to piety
which he knows he has not. Such a
man may have joy. He supposes
that his sins are forgiven, and that he
has a well-founded hope of eternal
life. He may have been greatly dis-
tressed in view of his sin and danger,
and when he supposes that his heart
is changed, and that the danger is
passed, from the nature of the case
lie will have a species of enjoyment.
A man is confined in a dungeon under
sentence of death. A forged instru-
ment of pardon is brought to him.
He does not know that it is forged,
and supposes the danger is past, and
his joy will be as real as though the
pardon were genuine. So with the
man who supposes that his sins are
forgiven. (2.) The joy of the self-
deceiver or the hypocrite will be

mount up to the heavens, and
his head reach unto the ^ clouds ;

short. There is no genuine religion
to sustain it, and it soon dies away.
It may be at first very elevated, just
as the joy of the man who supposed
that he was pardoned would fill him
with exultation. But in the case of
the hypocrite it soon dies away. He
has no true lOve to God ; he has
never been truly reconciled to him ;
he has no real faith in Christ ; he
has no sincere love of prayer, of the
Bible, or of Christians ; and soon the
temporary excitement dies away, and
he lives without comfort or peace.
He may be a professor of religion,
but with him it is a matter of form,
and he has neither love nor zeal in
the cause of his professed Master.
Motives of pride, or the desire of a
reputation for piety, or some other
selfish aim, may keep him in the
church, and he lives to shed blight-
ing on all around him. Or if, under
the illusion, he should be enabled to
keep up some emotions of happinesa
in his bosom, they must soon cease,
for to the hypocrite death will soon
end it ail. How much does it become
us, therefore, to inquire whether the
peace which we seek and which we
may possess in religion, is the genuine
happiness which results from true re-
conciliation to God and a well-found-
ed hope of salvation. Sad will be
the disappointment of him who has
cherished a hope of heaven through
life, should he at last sink down to
hell ! Deep the condemnation of
him who has professed to be a friend
of God, and who has been at heart
his bitter foe ; who has endeavored
to keep up the forms of religion, but
who has been a stranger through life
to the true peace which religion pro-
duces !

6. Though his excellency mount up
to the heavens. Though he attain
to the highest pitch of honor and
prosperity. The LXX render this,
" Though his gifts should go up to
heaven, and his sacrifice should touch
the clouds;" a sentence conveying a

CHAPTER XX.

285

7 Yet he shall perish for ever,
like ■" his own dung : they which
have seen him shall say, Where
is he '?

8 He shall fly away as a dream,
* and shall not be found ; yea, he
shall be chased away as a vision
of the night.

true and a beautiful idea, but which is
not a translation of the Hebrew. The
phrases, to go up to heaven, and to
touch the clouds, often occur to de-
note any thing that is greatly exalted,
or that is very high. Thus in Virgil,

It clamor coelo.
3o Horace,

Sublimi feriam sidera vertice.
A.nd again,

Attingit solium Jovis.
Comp. Gen. xi. 4, "Let us build us
a tower whose top may reach unto
heaven." In Homer the expression
not unfrequently occurs, toi' yao y.lf'ni;
nvoarov i'y.ei. In Seneca (Thyest.
Act. V. vs. 1, 2, 4,) similar expressions
occur :

-(Equalis astris gradior, et cunctos super
Altum supcrbo vertice attingens polum,
Dimitto superos : summa votorum attigi.

The language of Zophar would also
well express the condition of many
a hypocrite whose piety seems to be
of the most exalted character, and
who appears to have made most emi-
nent attainments in religion. Such
a man may seem to be a man of un-
common excellence. He may attract
attention as having extraordinary
sanctity. He may seem to have a
remarkable spirit of prayer, and yet
nil may be false and hollow. Men
who design to be hypocrites, aim
usually to be eminent liypocrites ;
they who have true piety often, alas,
aim at a much lower standard. A
hypocrite cannot keep himself in
countenance, or accomplish his pur-
pose of imposing on the world, with-
out the appearance of extraordinary
devotedness to God ; many a sincere
believer is satisfied with much less of

9 The eye also which saw him
shall see him no more ; neither
shall his place any more behold
him.

10 His ' children shall seek to
please the poor, and his hands
shall restore their " goods.

a 1 Ki. 14. 10. b Ps. 83. 10

•poor shall oppress his children.

1 or, the
c vcr. 18.

the appearance of religion. He is
sincere and honest. He is conscious
of true piety, and he attempts to im-
pose on none. At the same time he
makes no attempt scarcely to be what
the hypocrite wishes to appear to be ;
and hence the man that shall appear
to be the most eminently devoted to
God maij be a hypocrite — yet usually
not long. His zeal dies away, or he
is suffered to fall into open sin, and
to show that he had no true religion
at heart.

8. He shall jly away as a dream.
As a dream wholly disappears or
vanishes. This comparison of man
with a dream is not uncommon, and
is most impressive. See Psalm Ixxiii.
20. Notes on Isa. xxix. 7, 8. ^ ^s a
vision of the night. As when one in
a dream seems to see objects which
vanish when he awakes. The par-
allelism requires us to understand
this of what appears in a dream, and
not of a spectre. In our dreams we
seem to see objects, and when we
awake they vanish.

9. The eye also which saw him.
This is almost exactly the language
which Job uses respecting himself.
See ch. vii. 8, 10, and the Notes on
those verses.

10. His children shall seek to please
the poor. Marg. or, the poor shall op-
press his children. The idea in the
Hebrew seems to be, that his sons
shall be reduced to the humiliating
condition of asking the aid of the
most needy and abject. Instead of
being in a situation to assist others,
and to indulge in a liberal hospitality,
they themselves shall be reduced to
the necessity of applying to the poor
for the means of subsistence. There

28a

JOB.

11 His bones are full of the
sin " of his youth, which shall
'ie down with him in the dust.

a c. 13. 26.

IS great strength in this expression.
It is usually regarded as humiliating
to be compelled to ask aid at all ; but
the idea here is, that they would be
reduced to the necessity of asking it
of those who themselves needed it,
or 7could be beggars of beggars. IF J3nd
his hands shall restore their goods.
Noyes renders this, " And their
hands shall give back his wealth."
Rosenmiiller supposes it means,
" And their hands shall restore his
iniquity ;" that is, what their father
took unjustly away. There can be
but little doubt that this refers to his
sons, and not to himself — though the
singular suffix in the word ('^''^t)
' his hands' is used. But the singular
is sometimes used instead of the
plural. The word rendered ^ gojods'
(""iK) means strength, poicer, and
then icealth ; and the idea here is,
that the hands of his sons would be
compelled to give back the property
which the father had unjustly ac-
quired. Instead of retaining and en-
joying it, they would be compelled
to make restitution, and thus be re-
duced to penury and want.

11. His bones are full of the sin of
his youth. The words " of the sin"
in our common translation are sup-
plied by the translators. Gesenius
and Noyes suppose that the Hebrew
means, " His bones are full of youth ;"
that is, full of vigor and strength, and
the idea according to this would be,
that he would be cut off in the ful-
ness of his strength. Dr. Good ren-
ders it forcibly,
" His secret lusts shall follow his bones,

Yea, they shall press upon him in the dust."
The Vulgate renders it, " His bones
are full of the sins of his youth."
The LXX, " His bones are full of
his youth." The Chaldee Paraphrase,
" His bones are full of his strength."
The Hebrew literally is, " His bones
are full of his secret things" (Ta^i^iyj

12 Though wickedness be

sweet '' in his mouth, though he
hide it under his tongue ;

b c. 15. 16.

— referring, as I suppose, to tho
secret, long-cherished faults of his
life ; the corrupt propensities and de-
sires of his soul which had been
seated in his very nature, and which
would adhere to him, leaving a
withering influence on his whole
system in advancing years. The ef-
fect is that which is so often seen,
when vices corrupt the very phj-sica'l
frame, and where the results are seen
long in future life. The eff'ect would
be seen in the diseases which they
engendered in his system, and in the
certainty with which they would
bring him down to the grave. The

Syriac renders it, |.*k3.>o — marrow^
as if the idea were that he would die
full of vigor and strength. But the
sense is rather that his secret lusts
would work his certain ruin. 1[ Which
shall lie down icith him. That is, the
results of his secret sins shall lie
down with him in the grave. He
will never get rid of them. He has
so long indulged in his sins ; they
have so thoroughly pervaded his
nature, and he so delights to cherish
them, that they will attend him to
the tomb. There is truth in this re-
presentation. Wicked men often in-
dulge in secret sin so long that it
seems to pervade the whole system.
Nothing will remove it ; and it lives
and acts until the body is commit-
ted to the dust, and the soul sinks
ruined into hell.

12. Though, loichedness be siDeet in
his mouth. Though he has pleasure
in committing it, as he has in pleasant
food. The sense of this and the fol-
lowing verses is, that though a man
may have pleasure in indulgence in
sin, and may find happiness of a cer-
tain kind in it, yet that the conse-
(juences will be bitter — as if the food
which he ate should become like
gall, and he should cast it up with
loathing. There are many sins which,

CHAPTER XX.

^7

13 Though he spare it, and
forsake it not, but keep it still
' within his mouth ;

14 Yet his meat in his bowels
is turned, it is the gall of asps

1 171 the midst of his palate.

from tJi3 laws of our nature, are at-
tended with a kind of pleasure. Such,
for illustration, are the sins of glut-
tony and of intemperance in drink-
ing ; the sins of ambition and vanity ;
the sins of amusement and of fashion-
able life. To such we give the name
of pleasures. We do not speak of
them as happiness. That is a word
which would not express their nature.
It denotes rather substantial, solid,
permanent joy — such joy as the
' pleasures of sin for a season' do
not furnish. It is this temporary
pleasure which the lovers of vanity,
fnshiou and dress, seek, and which, it
cannot be denied, they often find.
As long ago as the time of Zophar, it
was admitted that such pleasure
might be found in some forms of
sinful indulgence, and yet even in
his time that was seen, which all sub-
sequent observation has proved true,
that such indulgence must lead to
bitter results. II Though he hide it
under his tongue. It is from this pas-
sage, probably, that we have derived
the phrase, ' to roll sin as a sweet
morsel under the tongue,' which is
often quoted as if it were a part of
Scripture. The meaning here is,
that a man would find pleasure in
sin, and would seek to prolong it, as
one does the pleasure of eating that
which is grateful to the palate by
holding it long in the mouth, or by
placing it under the tongue.

13. Though he spare it. That is,
though he retains it long in his mouth,
that he may enjoy it the more. *^ And.

forsake it not. Retains it as long as
he can. 1i But keep it still within his
mouth. Marg. as in Heb. in the
viidst of his palate. He seeks to en-
joy it as long as possible.

14. Yet his meat. His food. H In
his bowels is turned. That is, it is

within him.

15 He hath swallowed down
riches, and he shall vomit them
up again : God shall cast them
out of his belly.

as if he had taken food which was ex-
ceedingly pleasant, and had retained
it in his mouth as long as possible,
that he might enjoy it, but when he
swallowed it, it became bitter and of-
fensive. Comp. Rev. x. 9, 10. Sin
may be pleasant when it is commit-
ted, but its consequences will be bit-
ter. 11 It is the gall of asps. On the
meaning of the word here rendered
asps ("lO?.), see Notes on Isa. xi. 8.
There can be little doubt that the asp,
or aspic, of antiquity, which was so
celebrated, is here intended. The
bite was deadly, and was regarded as
incurable. The sight became imme-
diately dim after the bite — a swelling
took place, and pain was felt in the
stomach, followed by stupor, con-
vulsions, and death. It is probably
the same as the hoetan of the Ara-
bians. It is about a foot in length,
and two inches in circumference — its
color being black and white. Pict.
Bib. The word gall (p^i^^)> means
bitterness, acridness (compare Job
xiii. 26) ; and hence bile or gall. It
is not improbable that it was former-
ly supposed that the poison of the
serpent was contained in the gall,
though it is now ascertained that it is
found in a small sack in the mouth.
It is here used as synonymous with
the poison of asps — supposed to be
bitter and deadly. The meaning is,
that sin, however pleasant and grate-
ful it may be when committed, will
be as destructive to the soul as food
would be to the body, which, as soon
as it was swallowed, became the most
deadly poison. This is a fair account
still of the effects of sin.

15. He hath swalloiced dozen riches
He has glutted down riches— or gor-
mandized them — or devoured them
greedily The Hebrew word S'PS,

288

JOB.

16 He shall suck the poison °
of asps : the viper's tongue shall
slay him.

a Ro. 3. 13.

means to absorb, to devour with the
idea of greediness. It is descriptive
of the voracity of a wild beast, and
means here that he had devoured
tliem eagerly, or voraciously. IT Jlnd
he shall vomit. As an epicure does
that which he has drunk or swallow-
ed with delight. JVoyes. The idea
is, that he shall lose that which he
lias acquired, and that it will be at-
tended with loathing. All this is to
a great extent true still, and may be
applied to those who aim to accumu-
late wealth, and to lay up ill-gotten
gold. It will be ruinous to their
peace ; and the time will come when
it will be looked on with inexpress-
ible loathing. Zophar meant, un-
doubtedly, to apply this to Job, and
to infer, that since it was a settled
maxim that such would be the result
of the ill-gotten gain of a wicked
man, where a result like this had hap-
pened, that there must have been
wickedness. How cuttingand severe
tliis must have been to Job can be
easily conceived. The LXX renders
this, " Out of his house let an angel
drag him."

16. He shall suck the poison of asps.
That which he swallowed as pleasant
nutriment, shall become the most
deadly poison ; or the consequence
shall be as if he had sucked the poison
of asps. It would seem that the an-
cients regarded the poison of the ser-
j)ent as deadly, however it was taken
into the system. They seem not to
iiave been aware that the poison of a
wound may be sucked out without
injury to him who does it; and that
it is necessary that the poison should
mingle with the blood to be fatal.
*[ The viper's tongue shall slaij him.
The early impression probably was,
that the injury done by a serpent was
by the fiery, forked, and brandished
tongue, which was supposed to be
sharp and penetrating. It is now

17 He shall not see the rivers,
the floods, ' the brooks of honey
and butter.

1 or, streaming brooks.

known, that the injury is done by the
poison ejected through a groove, or
orifice in one of the teeth, which is
so made as to lie flat on the roof of
the mouth, except when the serpent
bites, when that tooth is elevated,
and penetrates the flesh. The word
viper here ("^^.S!!*), is probably the
same speciesof serpent that is known
among the Arabs by the same name
still — El Effah. See Notes on Isa.
XXX. 6. It is the most common and
venomous of the serpent tribe in
Northern Africa and in South-west-
ern Asia. It is remarkable for its
quick and penetrating poison. It is
about two feet long, as thick as a
man's arm, beautifully spotted with
yellow and brown, and sprinkled
over with blackish specks. They
have a large mouth, by which they
inhale a large quantity of air, and
when inflated therewith, they eject
it with such force as to be heard a con-
siderable distance. Jackson. Capt.
Riley, in his '' Authentic Narrative,''
(New York, 1817,) confirms this ac-
count. He describes the viper as the
"most beautiful object in nature,"
and says that the poison is so viru-
lent as to cause death in fifteen min-
utes.

17. He shall not see the rivers.
That is, he shall not be permitted to
enjoy plenty and prosperity. Rivers
or rills of honey and butter are em-
blems of prosperity . Comp. Ex. iii. 17.
Job xxix. 6. A land flowing with milk,
honey, and butter, is, in the Scripture,
the highest image of prosperity and
happiness. The word rendered " ri-
vers" (HiiiPQ), means rather rivulets^
small streams — or brooks, such aa
were made by dividing o. large stream
(from ^53 — to cleave., divide)., and
would properly be applied to canals
made by separating a large stream, or
dividing it into numerous water

CHAPTER XX.

289

18 That which he laboured
for shall he restore, and shall not
swallow it down ■ accordinor to

courses for the purpose of irrigating
lands. The words rendered floods,
and in the margin, streaming brooks
(*ibn3 '^'^na), means " the rivers of
the valley," or such as flow through
a valley when it is swelled hy the
melting of snow, or by torrents of
rain. A flood, a rapid, swollen, full
stream, would express the idea. These
were ideas of beauty and fertility
among the Orientals ; and where
butter and honey were represented
as flowing in this manner in a land,
it was the highest conception of
plenty. The word rendered honey
i'OZ'^) may, and commonly does,
mean honey ; but it also means the
juice of the grape, boiled down to
about the consistency of molasses, and
used as an article of food. The Arabs
make much use of this kind of food
now, and in Syria, nearly two-thirds
of the grapes are employed in pre-
paring this article of food. It is call-
ed by the Arabs Dibs, which is the
same as the Hebrew word used here.
May not the word mean this in some
of the places where it is rendered
honey in the Scriptures .'' The word
rendered butter ('^i$''?n) probably
means, usually, curdled milk. See
Notes on Isa. vii. 15. It is not cer-
tain that the word is ever used in the
Old Testament to denote butter. The
article which is used still by the
Arabs is chiefly curdled milk, and
probably this is referred to here. It
will illustrate this passage to remark,
tiiat the inhabitants of Arabia, and of
those who live in similar countries,
have no idea of butter, as it exists
among us, in a solid state. What
they call butter, is in a fluid state, and
is iience compared with flowing
streams. An abundance of these ar-
ticles was regarded as a high proof of
prosperity, as they constitute a con-
siderable partof the diet of Orientals.

^ his substance shall the restitu-
tion be, and he shall not rejoice
therein.

1 the substance of his exchange.

Tile same image, to denote plenty, is
often used by the sacred writers, and
by classic poets. See Isa. vii 22 :

And it shall come to pass in that day

Tliat a man shall keep alive a youn^ cow and

two sheep,
And it shall ho that from the plenty of milk

which they shall give, he shall eat butter.
For butter and honey shall every one eat,
Who is left alone in the midst of the land.

See also in Joel iii. 18 :
And it shall come to pass in that day,
The mountains shall drop down new wine
And the hills shall flow with milk,
And all the rivers of Judah shall flow with
water.

Thus also Ovid, Metam. iii.

Fiumina jam lactis, jam fluminanectaris ibunt

Comp. Horace Epod. xvi. 41.

Mclla cava manant ex illicc ; montibus altis
Levis crepante lympha desilit pede.
Fiom oaks pure honey flows, fioni lofty hills
Bound in light dance the murmuring rills.

BOSCAWEIS'.

See also Euripides, Bach, 142; and
Theoc. Idyll. 5,124. Compare Ro-
senmiiller's Alte u. neue Morgenland
on Ex. iii. 8, No. 194.

18. That which he labored for shall
he restore. This means that he shall
give back the profit of his labor. He
shall not be permitted to enjoy it or
to consume it. U And shall not sical-
loicit dozen. Shall not enjoy it ; shall
not eat it. He shall be obliged to
give it to others. IT According to his
substance shall the restitution be.
Literally, according to Gesenius,
" As a possession to be restored in
which one rejoices not." The sense
is, that all that he has is like properly
which a man lias, which he feels not
to be his own, but which belongs to
another, and which is soon to be
given zq). In such property a man
does not find that pleasure which he
does in that which he feels to be his
own. He cannot dispose of it, and
he cannot look on it and feel that it is
his. So Zophar says it is with the
wicked man. He can look on Jiis
property only as that which lie will

290

JOB.

19 Because he hath ^ oppress-
ed and hath forsaken the poor ;
because he hath violently taken
away an house which he builded
not ;

20 Surely he shall not * feel

1 crushed. 2 knoic.

soon be compelled to part with, and
not having any security for retaining
it, he cannot rejoice in it as if it were
his own. Dr. Lee, however, renders
this, " As his wealth is, so shall his
restitution be ; and he shall not re-
joice." But the interpretation pro-
posed above, seems to me to accord
best with the sense of the Hebrew.

10. Because he hath oppressed.
Marg. crushed. Such is the Hebrew.
II .^nd forsaken the poor. He has
plundered them, and then forsaken
them — as robbers do. The meaning
is, tliat he had done this by his op-
pressive manner of dealing, and then
left them to suffer and pine in want.
IT He hath rinlcntly taken away an
house ichich he builded not. That is,
by overreaching and harsh dealings
he has come in possession of dwell-
ings which he did not build, or pur-
chase in any proper manner. It
does not mean that he had done this
by violence — for Zophar is not de-
scribing a robber, but he means that
he took advantage of the wants of
the poor and obtained their property.
This is often done still. A rich man
takes advantage of tlie wants of the
poor, and obtains tlieir little farm or
liouse for much less than it is worth.
He takes a mortgage, and then fore-
closes it, and buys the property him-
self for much Ipss than its real value,
and thus practises a species of the
worst kind of robbery. Such a man,
Zophar says, must expect punishment
— and if there is any man who lias
occasion to dread the wrath of heaven
it is he.

20. Surely he shall not feel quiet-
ness. Marg. as in the Heb. knoic.
The sense is, he shall not know peace
or tranquillity. He shall be agitated
and troubled. Wemyss, liowever,

quietness in his belly, he shall
not save of that which he desir-
ed.

21 There shall ^ none of his
meat be " left ; therefore shall no
man look for his goods.

1 or, he none leftfoi his meat. a Ec. 5. 13, 14,

renders this, " Because his appetite
could not be satisfied." Noyes,
" Because his avarice was insatiable."
So Rosenmiiller explains it. So the
Vulgate renders it, JVec est satiatus
venter ejus. The LXX, " Neither
is there safety to his property, nor
shall he be saved by his desire."
But it seems to me that the former is
the sense, and that the idea is, that he
should not know peace or tranquillity
after he had obtained the things,
which he had so anxiously sought.
H In his belly. Within him ; in his
mind or heart. The viscera in gene-
ral in the Scriptures are regarded as
the seat of the aflections. We con-
fine the idea now to the heart. IF He
shall not save of that which he desired.
Literally, he shall not escape with
that which was an object of desire.
He shall not be delivered from the
evils which threaten him by obtain-
ing that which he desired. All this
shall be taken from him.

21. There shall none of his meat be
left. Marg. ' or, be none left for his
meat.'' Noyes renders it, " Because
nothing escaped his greatness." Prof.
Lee, " No surviver shall remain for
his provision." But the meaning,
probably, is, nothing shall remain of
liis food, or it shall all be wasted, or
dissipated. ^'Therefore shall vo man
look for his goods. Or rather, his
goods or his property shall net en-
dure. But a great variety of inter-
pretations has been given to the pas-
sage. The Hebrew word rendered
' shall look,' '^"^nf ? i^ ^lom "^^n, which
means to turn round, to twist, to
whirl ; and thence arises the notion
of being firm, stable, or strong — as a
rope that is twisted is strong. That
is the idea here ; and the sense is,
that his property should not be secure

CHAPTER XX.

291

22 In the fulness of his suffi-
ciency he shall be in straits :
every hand of the wicked ' shall
come upon him.

28 When he is about to fill
his belly, God shall cast the fury

1 or, troublesome.

or firm ; or that he should not pros-
per. Jerome renders it, "Nothing
shall remain of his goods." The
LXX, "Therefore his good things —
dvTovTa d'/aO-d — shall not flourish"
— df'dt'jnfi.

22. In the fulness of his svfficiencT/.
When he seems to have an abun-
dance. IT He shall he in straits.
Either by the dread of calamity, or
because calamity shall come suddenly'
upon him, and his property shall be
swept away. When every thing
seemed to be abundant he should be
reduced to want. IT Everij hand of
the loicked shall come upon /t,m.
Marg. ' or, tronblcsome.' The mean-
ing is, that all that the wretched or
miserable endure should come sud-
denly upon him. RosenmOller sug-
gests, however, that it means that all
the poor, and all who had been op-
pressed and robbed by him, would
suddenly come upon him to recover
their own property, and would scatter
all that he had. The general mean-
ing is clear, that he would be involved
in inisery from every quarter, or on
every liand.

2.3. When he is about to fdl his
belly. Or rathei, 'there shall be
enough to fill his belly.' But what
kijid of food it should be, is indicated
in the following part of the verse.
God would fill him with the food of
his displeasure. It is spoken sar-
castically, as of a gormandizer, or a
man who lived to enjoy eating, and the
meaning is, that he should for once
have enough. So Rosenmiiller inter-
j)rets it. TT God shall cast the fury.
This is the kind of food that he shall
have. God shall fill him with the
tokens of his wrath — and he shall
have enough. TT A7id shall rain it
upon him ichile he is eating. Noycs

of his wrath upon him, and shall
rain it upon him while "■ he is
eating.

24 He shall flee from the iron
weapon, and the bow of steel
shall strike him through.

a Ps. 78. 30, 31.

renders this, " And rain it down
upon him for his food." The mean-
ing is, that God would pour down
his wrath like a plentiful shower
while he was in the act of eating. In
the very midst of his enjoyments
God would fill him Avith the tokens
of his displeasure. There can be no
doubt that Zophar designed that this
should be understood to be applicable
to Job. Indeed no one can fail to see
that his remarks are made with con-
summate skill, and that they are such
as would be fitted to cut deep., as they
were doubtless intended to do. The
speaker does not, indeed, make a di-
rect application of them, but he so
makes his selection of proverbs that
there could be no difficulty in perceiv-
ing that they were designed to apply
to him, who, from such a height of
prosperity, had been so sudderily
plunged into so deep calamity.

24. He shall flee from the iron
weapon. The sword, or the spear.
That is, he shall be exposed to at-
tacks, and shall flee in cowardice and
alarm. Bands of robbers shall come
suddenly upon him, and he shall
have no safety except in flight. Prof
Lee explains this as meaning, " While
he flees from the iron weapon, the
brazen bow shall pierce him through."
Probably the expression is proverbial,
like that in Latin, Incidit in Scyllnm
cupiens vitare Charybdin. 11 The
bo20 of steel shall strike hi/m through.
That is, the arroxo from the bow of
steel shall strike him down. Bows
and arrows were commonly used in
hunting and in war. To a considera-
ble extent they are still employed in
Persia, though the use has been
somewhat superseded by the gun.
Boxes were made oi various mate-
rials. The first were, undoubtedly,

292

JOB.

25 It is drawn, and cometh
out of the body ; yea, the glitter-
ing sword cometh out of his
gall : terrors " are upon him.

a Ps. 73. 19. h Ps. 21. 8. Matt. 3. 12.

of wood. They were inlaid with
horn, or ivory, or were made in part
of metal. Sometimes, it would seem
that the whole bow was made of
metal, though it is supposed that the
metal bow was not in general use.
The tccight, if nothing else, would
be an objection to it. The word
which is here rendered 5fec/ (HTZJ^n;),
means properly hrass^ or cupper — but
it is certain that brass or copper could
never have been used to form the
main part of the bow, as they are
destitute of the elasticity which is
necessary. Jerome renders it, et
irruet in arcum aereum — he rushes on
the brazen bow. So the LXX, ro^ov
xd).y.etor. So the Chaldee, &<^'i3"J3^
^^'^15 — the boio of brass. There is
no certain proof that steel was then
known — though iron is often men-
tioned. It is possible, however, that
though the whole bow was not made
of brass or copper, yet that such quan-
tities of these metals were employed
in constructing bows, that they might,
without impropriety, be called bows
of brass. The Oriental bow consists
of three parts. The handle, or mid-
dle part — that on which the arrow
rested — was straight, and might be
made of wood, brass, copper, or any
other strong substance. To this was
affixed, at each end, pieces of horn,
or of any other elastic substance,

in this form,

and to the ends of these horns the
string was applied. The straight
piece might have been of brass, and
so without impropriety it might be
called a brazen bow. It is not pro-
perly rendered steel at any rate, as
the word here used is never employ-
ed to denote iron or steel.

25. It is draion. Or rather, " he

26 All iarkness shall he hid
in his secret places ; a fire ^ not
blown shall consume him ; it
shall go ill with him that is left
in his tabernacle.

draws" — that is, he draws out the
arrow that has been shot at him ; or
it may mean, as Prof. Lee supposes,
that he draws, that is, some one draws
the arrow from its quiver, or the
sword from its sheath, in order to
smite him. The object is to describe
his death, and to show that he should
be certainly overtaken with calamity.
Zophar, therefore, goes through the
process by which he would be shot
down, or shows that he could not
escape. H And cometh out of the body.
That is, the arrow, or the glittering
blade. It has penetrated the body,
and passed through it. He shall be
pierced through and through. IT The
glittering sicord. Heb. p'H^ — the
glittering; sci\. thing, or weapon, and
is given to the sword, because it is
kept bright. ^\ Cometh out of his gall.
Supposed to be the seat of life. See
Notes, ch. xvi. 13. IT Terrors are
upon him. The terrors of death.

26. All darkness shall be hid in his
secret places. The word darkness
here, as is common, means evidently
calamity. The phrase is hid, means
is treasured up for him. The phrase in
his secret places, may mean " for his
treasures," or instead of the great
treasures which he had laid up :or
himself. The Apostle Paul has a si-
milar expression, in which, perhaps,
he makes an allusion to this place.
Rom. ii. 5, " But, after thy hardness
and impenitent heart, treasurest up
unto thyself wrath, against the day of
wrath." Treasures formerly were
laid up in secret places, or places of
darkness, that were regarded as in-
accessible. See Notes on Isa. xlv. 3.
IT Afire not blown. A fire uiikindled.
Probably the meaning is, a fire that
man has not kindled, or that is of
heavenly origin. The language is
such as would convey tiie idea of
being consumed by lightning, and

CHAPTER XX.

293

27 The heaven shall reveal
his iniquity ; and the earth shall

probably Zophar intended to refer to
such calamities as had come upon the
family of Job, ch. i. 16. There is
much tact in this speech of Zophar,
and in the discourses of his friends
on tliis point. They never, I believe,
refer expressly to the calamities that
had come upon Job and his family.
They never in so many words say,
that those calamities were proof of
the wrath of heaven. But they go on
to mention a great many similar cases
in the abstract ; to prove that the
wicked would be destroyed in that
manner; that when such calamities
came upon men, it was proof that they
were wicked, and they leave Job
himself to make the application The
allusion, as in this case, was too broad
to be misunderstood, and Job was not
slow in regarding it as intended for
himself. Prof Lee (in loc.) supposes
that there may be an allusion here to
the " fire that shall not be quenched,"
or to the future punishment of the
wicked. But this seems to me to he
foreign to the design of the argument,
and not to be suggested or demanded
by the use of the word. The argu-
ment is not conducted on the suppo-
sition that men will be punished in
the future world. That would at
once have given a new phase to the
whole controversy, and would have
settled it at once. The question was
about the dealings of God in this life,
and whether men are punished ac-
cording to their deeds here. Had
there been a knowledge of the future
world of rewards and punishments,
the whole difficulty would have van-
ished at once, and the controversy
would have been ended. 11 It shall
go ill icith him in his tabernacle.
Heb. '■^^^'C "^:]— «' It shall be ill
with whatever survives or remains
in his tent." That is, all that re-
mains in his dwelling shall be de-
stroyed. Prof. Lee renders it, "In his
tent shall his survivor be broken" —
supposing that the word 5-"!!!] is from

rise up against him.

28 The increase of his house

r:^*l — to break. But it is more pro-
bably from 5?^"l — to be ivil ; to suffer
evil ; to come off' ill ; and the sense is,
that evil, or calamity, would come
upon all that should remain in his
dwelling.

27. The heaven shall reveal his
iniqtiity. The meaning here is, that
the whole creation would conspire
against such a man. Heaven and .
earth would be arrayed against him.
The course of events would be so
ordered as to seem designed to bring
his character out, and to show what
he was. He would attempt to con-
ceal his sin, but it would be in vain.
He would hide it in his bosom, but it
would be developed. He would put
on the air of piety and innocence, but
his secret sin would be known. This
seems to be the general sense of the
verse ; and it is not necessary to at-
tempt to show how it would be done —
whether by lightning from heaven,
as Koyes supposes, or whether by
some direct manifestation from the
skies. Probably the meaning is, that
the divine dispensations towards such
a man — the overwhelming calamities
which he would experience, would
show what he was. The word
heaven is not unfrequently put for
God himself Dan. iv. 23, " The
heavens do rule." Luke xv. 21, "I
have sinned against heaven." H The
earth shall rise up against him. Ca-
lamities from the earth. The course
of events here. Want of success —
sterility of soil— blight and mildew,
would rise up against such a man and
show what he was. His real charac-
ter would in some way be brought
out, and it would be seen that he was
a wicked man. Comp. Judges, v. 20.

They fought from heaven
The stars in their tourses fought against Sisera.
28. Tlie increase of his house shall
depart. Sept. " Destruction shall
bring his house to an end." The
word rendered ^^ depart" 0'^!'. —from
!n^a), means, properly, shall go into

294

JOB.

shall depart, and his goods shall
flow away in the day of his
wrath.

1 of his decree from.

captivity. The sense is, that what-
ever he had laid up in his house
would entirely disappear. IT His
goods shall fiuto away. What he
had gained would seem to flow away
like water. ^ In the day of his lorath.
The wrath of God — for so the con-
nection demands.

20. This is the portion of a zoickcd
man. This conclusion is similar to
that which Bildad drew at the close
of his speech, ch. xviii. 21. Zophar
intended, undoubtedly, that Job
should apply it to himself, and that
he should draw the inference, that
one who had been treated in this
manner, must be a wicked man.
IT Jlnd the heritage appointed. Marg.
of his decree from. Tlie Hebrew is,
"Of his word" (i-i^X)_that is, of
his purpose. The idea is, that this is
the divine rule, or arrangement, it
is not a matter of chance. It is the
result of appointment, and when men

20 This is the portion of a
wicked man from God, and the
heritage ' appointed unto him by
God.

are afflicted in this manner, we are to
conclude that God regards them as
guilty. The whole object of the dis-
cussion was to arrive at the princi-
ples of the divine administration.
Nothing is attributed to chance; and
nothing is ascribed to second causes,
except as indicating the will of God,
It is assumed, that the course of
events in the world was a sufficient
exponent of the divine intention, and
that when they understood how God
treated a man, they could clearly un-
derstand how he regarded his charac-
ter. The principle is a good one,
when the whole of existence is taken
into the account; the fault here was
in taking in only a small part of ex-
istence— this short life — and hasten-
ing to the conclusion, that the char-
acter could be certainly determined by
the manner in which God deals with
men here.

CHAPTER XXL

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER.

In this chapter, Job takes up the subject which had been under discussion, and replies, not
only to Zophar, but to Eliphaz and Bildad, who had maintained the same opinions. They liad
asserted, and endeavored to prove at great length, that the wicked are punished in this life,
and had inferred that when a man suflcrs much, it is full proof that he is eminently wicked.
This point they had argued as the result of their own observation, and had maintained that it
was the doctrine which had been settled by the course of events, and embodied in numerous
proverbs. It was time to examine that position, and to see whether it was so, and Job enters
on that task in this chapter. The chapter comprises the following points :

(1.) The exordium, in which he asks their patient attention to what he had to say, and says,
that when he had spoken, they might mock on, vs. 1-3.

(2.) He says that his complaint is not to man, and that his condition was such as to excite
commisetition, and should, at least, have led them to be silent, tad not to have overwhelmed
him with reproaches, vs. 4-6.

(3.) He then enters on the greal question. He takes up the inquiry, whether it is a matter
of fact that the wicked suffer in this life, and are overwhelmed with calamity, as his friends
maintained. He defends the contrary opinion, and shows that so far was this from being a fact,

CHAPTER XXI.

295

that they were often eminently prosperous, and that their just doom must be in another state, vs.
7-34. This important argument comprises the following particulars, viz.— (a) He states a^ a/act
that they are prosperous, vs. 7-15. They live to a great age ; they are mighty ; their houses are
secure ; tlaey are successful in business ; they have instruments of joy in their dwellings ; they and
their families live in thoughtless mirth ; they die without long-continued pain ; and all this when
« he effect of their whole lives has been to exclude God from their dwellings, and they have been
saymg to him depart from us. (6) It might be said, that calamity came often upon the wicked, and
th:\t their candle was suddenly put out, and that woes were laid up for their children (vs. 16-21)-
but Job maintaias that this is no certain rule of judging. This happened not to them alone." Of
two persons of the same character, one might be seen dying in the midst of comforts, hisbrea.=!tf
full of milk, and his bones moistened with marrow, and another in the bitterness of his soul
and ho\y could any certain inference be drawn respecting their character from the dispensations'
of Providence towards them? How could it be certainly inferred that the man who suffered
much was a wicked man, and that the other was a favorite of heaven? They lie down alike
i.\ the dust, after the various dispensations in regard to them, and both come to the same end
ill the grave, vs. •22~2'6. (c) Job seems to have supposed, from something in their manner, that
his friends were not satisfied still, v. 27. They would ask. Where were the dwelling places of
the mighty men of wickedness ? What became of princes, and the great and proud oppressors ?
AVere they not cut off, and prematurely consigned to the grave.' To these questions, which
they might be disposed to ask, Job states what he supposes to be the true doctrine in regafd to
the wicked, and what would accord with all the facts, as far as we can observe them. This
doctrine he professes to have learned from travellers, and says that it was the result of their
careful inquiries on this important subject in foreign lands. He maintains, therefore (vs. 29-34)
that the true doctrine was, the wicked were reserved for future destruction. Now, he main-
t lias, they were prospered. No one dares attack them to their face ; no one punishes them.
They live in prosperity, and they lie down peacefully in the grave, and the clods of the valley
are as sweet to them as to other men. They are accompanied to the grave by multitudes •
they drew numbers after them by their example ; and in their death they are publicly bemoaned,'
Their punishment must be beyond the tomb. Job thus, with boldness, attacks the main prin'-
ciple— a principle which they regarded as settled. He carried the war into their camp, and
the controversy after this became feebler, until his opponents were wholly silenced, and they
ceased to attempt to answer him.

"OUT Job answered and said,

2 Hear diligently my speech ;
and let this be your consola-

2. Hea7' diligently. Heb. " Hear-
ing hear" — that is, hear attentively.
What he was about to say was wor-
thy of their solemn consideration.
IF And let this he your consolations.
That is, ' You came to me for the
professed purpose of giving me conso-
lation. In that you liave wliolly
failed. You have done notliing to
sustain or romfort me; but all that
you have said has only tended to exas-
perate me, and to increase my sorrow.
If you will now hear me attentively,
I will take that as a consolation, and
it shall be in the place of what I had
a right to expect from you. It will
be some comfort if I am permitted to
express my sentiments without inter-
ruption, and I will accept it as a proof
of kindness on your part.'

3. Suffer me that I may speak.
Allow me to speak without inter-
ruption, or bear with me while I freely

tions.

3 Suffer me that I may speak ;
and after that I have spoken,
mock on.

express my sentiments — it is all that
I now ask. IF Aiid after that I have
spoken^ mock on. Resume your re-
proaches, if you will, when I am done.
I ask only the privilege of expressing
my tiioughts on a very important
point, and when that is done, I will
allow YOU to resume your remarks 5s
you have done before, and you may
utter your sentiments without inter-
ruption. Or it may be, that Job ut-
ters this in a kind of triumph, and that
he feels that what he was about to say
was so important that it would end
ihe argument ; and that all they could
say after that would be mere mockery
and reviling. The word rendered
mock on (^?^) means, originally, to
stammer, to speak unintelligibly —
then, to speak in a barbarous or for-
eign language — then, to deride or tc
mock, to ridicule or insult. The idea
is, that they might mock his woes,

296

JOB.

4 As for me, is my complaint
to man ? and if it were so, why
should not my spirit be ' trou-
bled ?

and torture his feelings as they had
done, if they would only allow him |
to express his sentiments. j

4. .^s for me, is my complaint to I
man ? There is some difficulty in the !
interpretation of this verse, and con- j
siderable variety of explanation may
he seen among expositors. The oh-
jcct of the verse is plain. It is to
state a reason why they should hear
him with patience and without in-
terruption. The meaning'of this part
of the verse probably is, that his
principal difficulty was not with his
friends, but with God. It was not so
much what they had said, that gave
him trouble, as it was what God had
done. Severe and cutting as were
their rebukes, yet it was far more^
trying to him to be treated as he had
been by God, as if he were a great
sinner. That was what he could not
understand. Perplexed and troubled,
therefore, by the mysteriousness of
the divine dealings, his friends ought
to be willing to listen patiently to
what he had to say ; and in his anxiety
to find out tchy God had treated him
so, they ought not at once to infer that
he was a wicked man, and to over-
whelm him with increased anguish of
spirit. It will be recollected that Job
repeatedly expressed the wish to be
permitted to carry his cause at once
up to God, and to have his adjudica-
tion on it. See Notes on ch. xiii. 3,
18, seq. It is that to which he refers
when he says here, that he washed to
have the cause before God, and not
before man. It was a matter which
he wished to refer to the Almighty,
and he ought to be allowed to ex-
press his sentiments with entire free-
dom. One of the difficulties in un-
derstanding this verse arises from the
word complaint. We use it in the
sense of murimiring, or repining ;
but this, I think, is not its meaning
here. It is used rather in the sense

5 Mark '^ me, and be astonish-
ed, and lay " your hand upon
your mouth.

2 look unto. a c. 40. 4.

of cause, argument, reasoning, or re
flections. The Hebrew word H^^j
means, properly, that which is brought
out — from n^b^ to bring out, to put
forth, to produce — as buds, leaves,
flowers ; and then it means icords — as
brought out, or spoken ; and then,
meditations, reflections, discourses,
speeches ; and then it may mean com-
plaint. But there is no evidence that
the word is used in that sense here.
It means his reflections, or arguments.
They were not to man. He wished
to carry them at once before God,
and he ought, therefore, to be al-
lowed to speak freely. Jerome ren-
ders it, disputatio mea. The LXX,
fXey^iq — used here, probably, in the
sense of an argument to produce
conviction, as it is often. IT And if it
were so, ichy should not my spirit he
troubled? Marg. shortened, meaning
the same as troubled, afflicted, or im-
patient. A more literal translation
will better express the idea which is
now lost sight of, ' And if so, why
should not my spirit be distressed.^'
That is, since my cause is with God —
since my difficulty is in understand-
ing his dealings with me — since I
have carried my cause up to Jiim, and
all now depends on him, why should
I not be allowed to have solicitude
in regard to the result.^ If 1 mani-
fest anxiety, who can blame me ?
Who would not, when his all was at
stake, and when the divine dealings
towards him were so mysterious ?

5. Mark me. Marg. look unto.
Literally, ' Look upon me. That is,
attentively look on me, on my suf-
ferings, on my disease, and my
losses. See if I am a proper object
of reproach and mockery — see if I
have not abundant reason to be ir
deep distress when God ha« .afflicted
me in a manner so unusual and mys-
terious. ^ And be astonished. Silenj

CHAPTER XXI.

297

6 Even when I remember, I
am afr.iid, and trembling taketh
hold on my flesh.

astonishment should be evinced in-
stead of censure. You should wonder
that a man whose life has been a life
of piety, should exhibit the spectacle
which you now behold, wliile so
many proud contemners of God are
permitted to live in atHuence and ease.
IT Artd lay your hand upon your mouth.
As a token of silence and wonder.
So Plutarch, de Iside et Osiride,
" Wherefore, he had laid his finger
on his mouth as a symbol of silence
and admiration — ^/f^/n<(9^('«g y.ai oio)-

6 Even lohen I remember., I am
afraid. I have an internal shudder-
ing and horror when 1 recall the
scenes through which I have passed,
lam myself utterly overwhelmed at
the magnitude of my own sufter-
ings, and they are such as should ex-
cite commiseration in your hearts.
Some, however, have connected this
with the following verse, supposing
the idea to be, that he was horror-
stricken when he contemplated the
prosperity of wicked men. But there
seems to me to be no reason for this
interpretation. His object is un-
doubtedly to show them that there
was enough in his case to awe them
into silence ; and he says, in order to
show that, that the recollection of
liis sufierings perfectly overwhelmed
him., and filled him with horror.
They who have passed through scenes
of peculiar danger, or of great bodily
suffering, can easily sympathize with
Job here. The very recollection will
make the flesh tremble.

7. Wherefore do the loicked live.
Job comes now to the main design of
his argument in this chapter, to show
that it is a fact, that the wicked oftei]
have great prosperity ; that they are
not treated in this life according to
their character ; and that it is not a
fact that men of eminent wickedness,
as his friends maintained, would meet,

7 Wherefore " do the wicked
live, become old, yea, are mighty
in power ?

a Je. 19. 1, 2.

in this life, with proportionate suffer-
ings. He says, that the fact is, that
they enjoy great prosperity ; that they
live to a great age ; and that they are
surrounded with the comforts of life
in an eminent degree. The meaning
is, ' If you are positive that the
wicked are treated according to their
character in this life — that great
wickedness is followed by great judg-
ments, how is it to be accounted for
that they live, and grovv^ old, and 5re
mighty in power ?' Job assumes the
fact to be so, and proceeds to argue
as if that were indisputable. It is re-
markable, that the fact was not ad-
verted to at an earlier peiiod of the
debate. It would have done much to
settle the controversy. The question,
" Why do the wicked live .'"' is one of
great importance at all times, and one
which it is natural to ask, but which
it is not even yet always easy to an-
swer. iS'o7?ie points are clear, and may
be easily suggested. They are such as
these — They live (1) to show the for-
bearance and long-suffering of God;
(2) to furnish a full illustration of the
character of the human heart ; (3) to
afford them ample space for repent-
ance, so that there shall not be the
semblance of a ground of complaint
when they are called before God, and
are condemned ; (4) because God in-
tends to make some of them the mon-
uments of his mercy, and more fully
to display the riches of his grace in
their conversion, as he did in the
case of Paul, Augustine, John Bun-
yan, and John Newton ; (5) they may
be preserved to be the instruments of
his executing some important purpose
by them, as was the case with Pha-
raoh, Senacherib, and Nebuchadnez-
zar; or, (6) he keeps them, that the
great interests of society may be car-
ried on ; that the affairs of the com-
mercial and the political world may be
forwarded by their skill an(? talent.

298'

JOB.

8 Their seed is established in
their sight with them, and their
offspring before their eyes.

9 Their houses are ' safe from
fear, neither is the rod of God
upon them.

1 ■peace from.

For some, or all of these purposes, it
may be, tlie >vicked are kept in the
land of the living, and are favored
with great external prosperity, while
many a Christian is oppressed, af-
flicted, and crushed to the dust. Of
tlie fact^ there can be no doubt ; of
the reasons for the fact, there will be
a fuller development in the future
world than there can be now. H Be-
come old. The friends of Job had
maintained that the wicked would
be cut off. Job, on the other hand,
affirms that they live on to old age.
The/ac^ is, that many of the wicked
are cut off for their sins in early life,
but that some live on to an extreme
old age. The argument of Job is
founded on the fact, that- are?/ should
live to old age, as, according to the
principles of his friends, all were
treated in this life according to their
character. f Fea, are mighty in
power. Or, rather, in wealth — ^'^.'Q-
Jerome, " Are comforted in riches" —
confortatique divitiis. So the LXX,
^j' nlovxo). The idea is, that they
become very rich.

8. Their seed. Their children —
their posterity. U Is established in
their sight. Around them, where
they may often see them — where they
may enjoy their society. The friends
of Job had maintained, with great
positiveness and earnestness, that the
cliildren of wicked men would be cut
ciF. wSee ch. xviii. 19, xx. 28. This
position Job now directly controverts,
and says that it is a fact, that so far
from being cut off, they are often es-
tablished in the very presence ofthcir
ungodly parents, and live and pros-
per. How, he asks, is this consistent
with the position, that God deals with
men in this life according to their
character .'

10 Their bull gendereth, and
faileth not ; their cow calveth,
and casteth not her calf.

11 They send forth their little
ones like a flock, and their chil-
dren dance.

9. Their houses are safe from fear
Marg. peace from. The friends of
Job had maintained just the contrary.
See ch. xx. 27, 28, xv. 21-24. Their
idea was, that the wicked man would
never be free from alarms. Job says,
that they lived in security and peace,
and that their houses are preserved
from the intrusions of evil-minded
men. II Neither is the rod of God upon
them. The rod is an emblem of pun-
ishment. The idea is, that they
were free from the chastisements
which their sins deserved. There
can be no doubt that there are cases
enough in which the wicked live in
security, to justify Job in all that he
here affirms, as there are instances
enough in which the wicked are cut
off for their sins, to make what his
friends said plausible. The truth
is, good and evil are intermingled.
There is a general course of events
by which the wicked are involved
in calamity in this life, and the
righteous are prospered : but, still,
there are so many exceptions as to
show the necessity of a future state of
rewards and punishments. To us,
who look to that future world, all is
clear. But that view of the future
state of retribution was not possessed
by Job and his friends.

10. Their bull gendereth. See
Rosenmilller and Lee on this verse.
Comp. Bochart, Hieroz. P. 1, Lib. ii
c. XXX. The general idea is, that the
wicked were prospered as well as the
pious. God did not interpose by a
miracle to cut off their cattle, and to
prevent their becoming rich.

1 ] . Thejj send forth their httle ones.
j Their numerous and happy children
j they send forth to plays and pastimes,
j IT Like a flock. In great numbers,
i This is an exquisitely beautiful image

CHAPTER XXr

299

12 They take the timbrel and | harp, and rejoice at the sound of

of prosperity. What can be more so
tlian a group of liappy children
around a man's dwelling ? Andthcir
children chnice. Dance for joy. They
are phiyful and sportive, like the
lambs of the flock. It is the skip of
playfulness and exultation that is re-
ferred to here, and not the set and
formal dance where children are in-
structed in the art j the sportiveness
of children in the fields, tiie woods,
and on the lawn, and not the set
step taught in the dancing-school.
The word here used p^"^) means to
leap, to skip — as from joy, and then
to dance. Jerome has well ren-
dered it, exultant lusibus — " thev leap
about in their plays.'' So the LXX,
7T()nanal'Qov(yn' — tkey frolick or play.
Tliere is no evidence here that Job
meant to say that they taught their
children to dance ; that they caused
them to be trained in any thing that
now corresponds to dancing schools;
and that lie meant to say that such a
training was improper and tended to
exclude God from the heart. The
image is one simply of health, abun-
dance, exuberance of feeling, cheer-
fulness, prosperity. The houses were
free from alarms ; the fields were
filled with herds and flocks, and their
families of happy and playful chil-
dren were around them. The object
of Job was not to say that all this
was in itself wrong, but that it w as a
plain matter of fact that God did not
take away the comforts of all the
wicked and overwlielm them with
calamity. Of the impropriety of
training children in a dancing-school,
tliere ought to be but one opinion
among the friends of religion (see
National Preacher for January 1844),
but there is no evidence that Job re-
ferred to any such training here, and
this passage should not be adduced
to prove that dancing is wrong. It
refers to the playfulness and the
cheerful sports of children, and God
has made them so that they will find
pleasure in such sports, and so that

they are benefited by them. There
is not a more lovely picture of hap-
piness and of the benevolence of
God any where on earth than in such
groups of children, and in their sport-
iveness and playfulness there is no
more that is wrong than there is in
the gambols of the lambs of the flock.
12. They take the timbrel. They
liave instruments of cheerful music
in their dwellings ', and this is an
evidence that they are not treated as
the friends of Job had maintained.
Instead of being, as they asserted,
overwhelmed with calamity, they are
actually happy. They have all that
can make them cheerful, and their
houses exhibit all that is usually the
emblem of contentment and peace.
Rosenmilller and Noyes suppose this
to mean, " They sing to the tim-
brel and harp;" that is, ' they raise
up' (^t^ili*^) scil. the voice to accom-
pany the timbrel. Dr. Good renders
it, " They rise up to the tabor and
harp, and trip merrily to the sound
of the pipe." So Wemyss. It is
literally, "They rise up with the
tabor;" and the word voice may be
understood, and the meaning may be
that they accompany the timbrel with
the voice. The Vulg. and the LXX,
however, render it, they " Take up
the timbrel." Dr. Good supposes
that the allusion is to the modes of
dancing ; to their raising themselves
in an erect position, and then chang-
ing their position — advancing and re-
treating as in alternate dances, and
quotes the following exquisite piece
of poetry as illustrating it :

" Now pursuing, now retreating,
Now in circling troops tliey meet ;

To brisk notes, in cadence meeting,
Glance their many-twinkling feet."

Still, it seems to me, that the exact
idea has not been expressed. It is
this, " They raise, or elevate (^i*^'?)
scil. THEMSELVES ;" that is, they be-
come exhilarated and excited at the
sound of music. It is in their dwell-
ings, and it is one of the indications

300

JOB.

the organ.

13 They spend their days in

1 or, mirth.

^ wealth, and in a moment go
down to the grave.

of joy. Instead of lamentations and
wo, as his friends said there would
be in such dwellings, Job says that
there was there the sound of music
and mirth ; that they exhilai-ated
themselves, and were happy. On
the v/ord rendered "timbrel" (»^|P^)
and the word " harp" ('^"^^), see
Notes on Isa. v. 12. IT .^t the sound
of the organ. The word organ we
now apply to an instrument of music
which was wholly unknown in the
time of Job. With us it denotes an
instrument consisting of pipes, which
are filled with wind, and of stops
touched by the fingers. It is the
largest and most harmonious of the
wind instruments, and is blown by
bellows. That such an instrument
was known in the time of Job, is
wholly improbable, and it is not
probable that it would be used for
the purposes here referred to if it
were known. Jerome renders it, '
organ; the LXX, ^jal^inv — 'the
sound of a song;' Noyes,j)ipe ; Lee,
lyre ; Good and VVemyss, ^ipe. The
Hebrew word (-5''") is derived from
"Z^^ — to breathe, to blow; and it is
manifest that the reference is to some
wind instrument. Various forms of
wind instruments were early invent-
ed, and this is expressly mentioned
as jiaving been early in use. Thus
it is said of Jubal (Gen. iv. 21), " He
was the father of all such as handle
tlio harp and organ" — S^^S'. It was
prol);ibly at first a rude reed or pipe,
which came ultimately to be changed
to the fife and the flute. It is here
mentioned merely as an instrument
exciting hilarity, and in the mere use
of such an instrument there can be
nothing improper. Job does not
mean, evidently, to complain of it as
wrong. He is simply showing that
the wicked live in ease and prosper-
ity, and are not subjected to trials

and calamities as his friends main-
tained.

13. They s-pend their days in 2ceatth.
Marg. or mirth. Literally, ' they
wear out their days in good' — iili^ •
Vulg. in bonis. Sept. iv aya&olq —
in good things ; in the enjoyment of
good. They are not oppressed with
the evils of poverty and want, but
they have abundance of ' the good
things' of life. TI And in a moment
go down to the grave. Heb. to Sheol
— but here meaning evidently the
grave. The idea is, that when they
die they are not afflicted with linger-
ing disease, and great bodily pain,
but having lived to an old age in the
midst of comforts, they drop off sud-
denly and quietly, and sleep in the
grave. God gives them prosperity
while they live, and when they come*
to die he does not come forth with
the severe expressions of his dis-
pleasure, and oppress them with long
and lingering sickness. The author
of the LXXIIId Psalm had a view of
the death of the wicked remarkably
similar to this, when he said,

For I was envious at the foolish,
When I saw the prosjierity of the wicked.
For there are no bands in their death,
But their strength is firm. vs. 3, 4.

All that Job says here is predicated
on the supposition that such a sudden
removal is preferable to death ac-
companied with long and lingering
illness. The idea is, that it is in it-
self desirable to live in tranquillity;
to reach an honorable old age sur-
rounded by children and friends, and
then quietly and suddenly to drop
into the grave without being a burden
to friends. The wicked, he says, often
live such a life, and he infers, th(;re-
fore, that it is not a fact that God
deals with men according to their
character in this life, and that it is
not right to draw an inference re-
specting their moral character from
his dealings with them in this world

CHAPTER XXI.

301

14 Therefore " they say unto
God, Depart from us ; for we
desire not the knowledge of thy
ways.

a Hab. 1, 15.

Tliere are instances enough occurring
ill every age like those supposed here
by Job, to justify the conclusion
which he draws.

14. Therefore. This would seem
to indicate that the result of their
living in this manner was that they
rejected God, or that one of the con-
sequences of their being prospered
would be that they would cast oft' his
government and authority ; that they
renounced him because they were
thus prosperous, or because they
wished to train up their children in
merriment and dancing. All this
may be true in itself, but that idea
is not in the Hebrew. That is
simply ' and they say' — ^I'l^'i^'^'l . So
the Vulgate; the LXX ; the Chaldee
—^^lax^l; and the Syriac. The word
' therefore.^' should not have been in-
serted. Job is not affirming that
their mode of life is a reason why
they reject the claims of God, but
that it is a simple/aci that they do live,
even in this prosperity, in the neglect
of God. This is the gist of what he
is saying, that being thus wicked
they were in fact prospered, and not
punished as his friends had maintain-
ed. 11 They say unto God. This is
the language of their conduct Men
do not often formally and openly say
this ; but it is the language of their
deportment. H Depart from us.
This is about all that the wicked say
of God. They icish him to let them
alone. They do not desire that he
would come into their habitations ;
they would be glad never more to
jjcar his name. Yet what a state of
mind is this ! What must be the
condition and character of the human
heart when this desire is felt ! TF We
desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
We have no wish to become ac-
quainted with God. His ' ways' here
mean his government, his law, his
19

15 What * is the Almighty,
that we should serve him 1 and
what profit " should we have, if
we pray unto him 1

c Mai. 3. 14.

claims — whatever God does. Never
was there a better description of the
feelings of the human heart than is
here expressed. The ways of God
are displeasing to men, and they seek
to crowd from their minds all respect
to his commandments and claims..
Yet, if this is the character of man,
assuredly he is very far from being a
holy being What higher proof of
depravity can there be, than that a
man has no desire to know any thing
about a pure and holy God ; no plea-
sure in becoming acquainted with his
Maker !

15. What is the Almighty., that we
should serve him? Comp. for simi-
lar expressions, Ex. v. 2. Prov. xxx.
9. The meaning here is, ' What
claim has the Almighty, or who is
he, that we should be bound to obey
and worship him ? What authority
has he over us ? Why should we
yield our will to his, and why submit
to his claims .''' This is the language
of the human heart every where.
Man seeks to deny the authority of
God over him, and to feel that he has
no claim to his service. He desires
to be independent. He would cast
off" the claims of God. Forgetful
that he made, and that he sustains
him ; regardless of his infinite per-
fections and of the fact that he is de-
pendent on him every moment, he
asks with contempt, what right God
has to set up a dominion over him.
Such is man — a creature of a day —
dependent for every breath he draws
on that Great Being, whose govern-
ment and authority he so contemp-
tuously disowns and rejects ! IT And
what profit should we have, if we
pray unto him? What advantage
would it be to us should we worship
him ? Men still ask this question, or,
if not openly asked, they feel the
force of it in their hearts. Learn
hence, (1.) That wicked men are in-

302

JOB.

16 Lo, their good is not in

a Ps. 1. 1.

fluenced by a regard to self in the
inquiry about God, and in meeting
his claims. They do not ask what is
right, but what advantage will accrue
to them. (2.) If they see no imme-
diate benefit arising from worship-
ping (jod, they will not do it. Multi-
tudes abstain from prayer, and from
the house of God, because they can-
not see how their self-interest would
be promoted by it. (3.) Men ought
to serve God, without respect to the
immediate, selfish, and personal
good that may follow to themselves.
It is a good in itself to Avorship God.
It is what is right; what the con-
science says ought to be done : yet
(4.) It is not difficult to answer the
question which the sinner puts.
There is an advantage in calling
upon God. There is (a) the possi-
bility of obtaining the pardon of sin
by prayer — an immense and unspeak-
able ' profit' to a dying and guilty
man ; (b) a peace which this world
cannot furnish — worth more than all
that it costs to obtain it ; (c) support
in trial in answer to prayer — in a
world of sufl^ering of more value
than silver and gold ; (d) the salva-
tion of friends in answer to prayer —
an object that should be one of in-
tense interest to those who love their
friends ; (c) eternal life — the ' profit'
of which who can estimate.' What
are the few sacrifices which religion
requires, compared with the infinite
and immortal blessings which may
be obtained by asking for them ?
• Profit r Whan can be done by man
that will be turned to so good an ac-
count as to pray ? Where can man
make so good an investment of time
and strength as by calling on God to
save his soul, and to bless his friends
and the world ?

16. Lo, their good is not in their
hand. Schuitens, RosenmUlIer, and
Noyes, suppose, I think, correctly,
that this is to be understood ironically,
or as referring to what they had main-
tained. ' Lo ! you say, that their

their hand : the counsel * of the
wicked is far from me.

good is not in their hand ! They do
not enjoy prosperity, do they ? They
are soon overwhelmed with calamity^
are they ? How often have / seen it
otherwise ! How often is it a fact
that they continue to enjoy prospe-
rity, and live and die in peace !'
The common interpretation, which
Prof Lee has adopted, seems to me
to be much less probable. Accord-
ing to that it means that ' their pros
perity was not brought about or pre-
served by their own power. It was
by the power of God, and was under
his control. An inscrutable Provi-
dence governs all things.' But tho
true sense is, that Job is replying to
the arguments which they had ad-
vanced, and one of those was, that
whatever prosperity they had was
not at all secure, but that in a moment
it might be, and often was, wrested
from them. Job maintains the con-
trary, and affirms that it was a some-
what unusual occurrence (ver. 17),
that the wicked were plunged intc
sudden calamity. The phrase 'in
their hand' means in their power, or
under their control, and at their dis-
posal. TT The counsel of the loicked
is far from me. Or, rather, ' far be
it from me !' Perhaps the meaning
is this, ' Do not misunderstand me. I
maintain that the wicked are often
prospered, and that God does not in
this life deal with them according to
their deserts. They have life, and
health, and property. But do not
suppose that I am their advocate.
Far be it from me to defend them.
Far from me be their counsels and
their plans. I have no sympathy
with them But I maintain merely
that your position is not correct that
they are always subjected to calamity,
and that the character of men can al-
ways be known by the dealings of
Providence towards them.* Or, it
may mean, that he was not disposed
to be united with them. They were,
in fact, prospered ; but though they
were prospered, he wished to liave no

CHAPTER XXI.

17 How oft is the ^ candle of
the wicked put out ? and how oft
Cometh their destruction upon
them ? God distributeth sorrows
in his anger.

18 They are as stubble before

1 or, lamp. ^stealeth away.

part in tlieir plans and counsels. He
would prefer a holy life with all the
ills thut might attend it.

17. How oft is the candle of the
wicked put out? Marg.tatnp. Alight,
or a lamp, was an image of prosperi-
ty. There is, probably, an allusion
here to what had been maintained by
Bildad, ch. xviii. 5, 6, that the light
of the wicked would be extinguished,
and tlieir dwellings made dark. See
IVotes on those verses. Job replies
to this by asking how often it occur-
red, lie inquires whether it was a
frequent thing. By this, he implies
that it was not universal ; that it was
a less frequent occurrence than they
supposed. The meaning is, 'How
often does it, in fact, happen that the
light of the wicked is extinguished,
and that God distributes sorrows
among them in his anger ? Much
less frequently than you suppose, for
he bestows upon many of them tokens
ofabundantprosperity.' In this man-
ner, l)y an appeal to fact and obser-
iHition^ Job aims to convince them
that their position was wrong, and that
it was not true that the wicked were
invariably overwhelmed with calam-
ity, as they had maintained. H God
distributeth sorrows. The word God
licre, is understood, but there can be
no doubt that it is correct. Job means
to ask, how often it was true in fact
that God apportioned the sorrows
which he sent on men in accordance
with their character. How often, in
fact, did he treat the wicked as they
deserved, and overwhelm them with
calamity. It was not true that he did
it, by any means, as often as they
maintained, or so as to make it a cer-
tain rule in judging of character.

18. They are as stubble before the
wind. According to the interpreta-

the wind, and as chaff that the

storm carrieth away.

19 God layeth up ^ his iniquity
for his children : " he rewardeth
him, and he shall know it.

3 i. e. the punishment of iniquity,
a Ex. 20. 5. Eze. 18. 14.

tion proposed of the previous verse,
this may be read as a question, ' How
often is it that the wicked are made
like stubble .? You say that God
deals with men exactly according to
their characters, and that the wicked
are certainly subjected to calamities;
but how often does this, in fact, oc-
cur ? Is it a uniform law ? Do they
not, in fact, live in prosperity, and
arrive at a good old age r It is not
uncommon in the Scriptures to com-
pare the wicked with stubble, and to
affirm that they shall be driven away,
as the chaff is di-iven by the wind.
See Notes on Isa. xvii. 13. H The
storm carrieth away. Marg. stealeth
away. This is a literal translation of
the Hebrew. The idea is that of
stealing away before one is aware, as
a thief carries off spoil.

19. God layeth up his iniquity for
his children. Marg. i. e. the punish-
ment of iniquity. This is a refer-
ence evidently to the opinion which
they had maintained. It may be
rendered, ' You say that God lay-
eth up iniquity,' &c. They had af-
firmed that not only did God, as a great
law, punish the wicked in this life,
but that the consequences of their
sins passed over to their posterity ;
or, if they were not punished, yet the
calamity would certainly come on
their descendants. See ch. xviii. 19,
20, XX. 10, 28. This is the objection
which Job now adverts to. The
statement of the objection, it seems
to me, continues to ver. 22, where Job
says, that no one can teach God know-
ledge, or prescribe to him what he
should do, and then goes on to say,
that the fact was far different from
what they maintained ; that there was
no such exact distribution of punish-
ments; but that one died in full

304

JOB.

20 His eyes shall see bis de-
struction, and he shall drink of
the wrath of the Almighty.

21 For what pleasure hath he
in his house after him, when the
number of his months is cut off
in the midst ?

strength, and another in the bitter-
ness of his sou!, and both laid down
in the dust together. This view
seems to me to give better sense
than any other interpretation which
I have seen proposed. U He reward-
eth him, and he shall know it. That
is, you maintain that God will cer-
tainly reward him in this life, and
that his dealings with him shall so
exactly express the divine view of his
conduct, that he shall certainly know
what God thinks of his character.
This opinion they had maintained
throughout the argument, and this
Job as constantly called in question.

2U. His eyes shall see his destruc-
tion. That is, his own eyes shall see
liis^ destruction, or the calamities that
shall come upon him. That is, ' You
maintain that, or this is the position
which you defend.' Job designs to
meet this, and to show that it is not
always so. ^\ And he shall drink of
the wrath of the Mmighty. Wrath is
often represented as a cup which the
wicked are compelled to drink. See
Notes, Isa. li. 17.

21 . For what pleasure hath Ae, &c.
That is, what happiness shall he have
in his family .' This, it seems to me,
is designed to be a reference to their
sentiments, or a statement by Job of
what they maintained. They held,
that a man who was wicked, could
have none of the comfort which he
anticipated in his children, for he
would himself be cut off in the midst
of life, and taken away. II When the
number of his months is cut off in the
midst? When his life is cut off — the
word moyiths here being used in the
sense oflife, or years. This they had
maintained, that a wicked man would

>3 Shall * ani/ teach God
knowledge ? seeing he judgeth
those that are high.

23 One dieth in his 'full
strength, being wholly at ease
and quiet :

a Ro. 11. 34. I very perfection^ or, in

the strength of his perfection.

be punished, by being cut off in the
midst of his way. Comp. ch. xiv. 21.

22. Shall any teach God knowledge ?
This commences the reply of Job to
the sentiments of his friends to which
he had just adverted. The substance
of the reply is, that no one could
prescribe to God bow he should deal
with men, and that it was not a fact
that men were treated as they had
supposed. Instead of its being true,
as they maintained, that wicked men
would all be cut down in some fear-
ful and violent manner, as a punish-
ment for their sins. Job goes on (vs.
23-26) to show that they died in a
great variety of ways — one in full
age and prosperity, and another in
another manner. This, he says, God
directs as he pleases. No one can
teach him knowledge ; no one can
tell him what he ought to do. The
reasoning of his friends. Job seems to
imply, had been rather an attempt to
teach God how he ought to deal with
men, than a patient and candid in-
quiry into the facts in the case, and
he says the facts were not as they
supposed tliey ought to be. H Seeing
he judgith those that are high. Or
rather, he judges among the things
that are high. He rules over the
great affairs of the universe, and it is
presumptuous in us to attempt to pre-
scribe to him how he shall govern the
world. The design of this and the
following verses is to show, that,
from the manner in which men actu-
ally die, no argument can be derived
to determine what was their religious
condition, or their real character.
Nothing is more fallacious than that
kind of reasoning.

23. One dieth in his full strength ^

CHAPTER XXI.

305

24 His 'breast's are full of
milk, and his bones are moisten-
ed with marrow.

1 or, milk-pails.

Marg. very perfection^ or, in the
strength of his perfection. The mean-
ing is', that he dies in the very prime
and vigor of life, surrounded with
every thing that can contribute to
comfort. Of the truth of this posi-
tion, no one can doubt ; and the won-
der is, that the friends of Job had not
seen or admitted it. IT Being wholly
at ease and quiet. That is, having
every thing to make them happy, so
far as external circumstances are con-
cerned. He is borne down by no
calamities ; he is overwiielmed by no
sudden and heavy judgments. The
phrase in this verse rendered "full
strength" O^n c:^>S), is literally,
"in the bone of his perfection." It
means full prosperity'.

24. His breasts. Marg. milk-pails.
The marginal translation is much the
most correct, and it is difficult to un-
derstand why so improbable a state-
ment has been introduced into our
common version. But there has been
great variety in tiie translation. The
Vulgate renders it, Viscera ejus plena
sunt adipe — '•'- his viscera ore full of
fat." So the LXX, roc I'yy.ara cwtov
nXrjgrj nTf'aznq. The Syriac, his sides ;
Frof. Lee, his bottles; Noyes, his
sides; Luther, scin viilhfass — his
milk-pail; Wemyss, the stations of
his cattle; Good, his sleek skin. In
this variety of rendering, what hope
is there of ascertaining the meaning of
the word ? It is not easy to account
for this variety, though it is clear
that Jerome and the J.XX followed
a different reading from the present,
and instead of T^3'^W", they read
11 2 ■» 13 n —from )q'2—ihe belly; and
that instead of the word ^^H, as at
present pointed, meaning milk, they
understood it as if it were pointed
sbrt — meaning/a^ — the same letters,
but different vowels. The word
which is rendered breast (]^^^.) oc-

25 And another dieth in the
bitterness of his soul, and never
eateth with pleasure.

curs nowhere else in the Hebrew
Scriptures. It has become necessary,
therefore, to seek its meaning in the
ancient versions, and in the cognate
languages. For a full examination of
the word, the reader may consult
Bochart, Hieroz. P. 1, Lib. ii. c. xliv.
pp. 455,458; or Rosenmuller, where
the remarks of Bochart are abridged ;
or Lee on Job, in loc. The Chaldee
renders it "^il^S — his breasts. So
Junius et Tre. iPiscator, and others.
Among the Rabbins, Moses Bar.
Nackman, Levi, and others, render it
as denoting the breasts, or mulctra-
lia — milk-vessels, denoting, as some
have supposed, the lacteals. This idea
would admirably suit the connection,
but it is doubtful whether it can be
maintained ; and the presumption is,
that it would be in advance of the
knowledge of physiology in the times
of Job. Aben Ezra explains it of the
places where camels lie down to
drink — an idea which is found in the
Arabic, and which will well suit the
connection. According to this, the
sense would be, that those places
abounded with milk — that is, that he
was prospered and happy. The He-
brew word r^S^, as has been observ-
ed, occurs nowhere else. It is sup-
posed to be derived from an obsolete

root, the same as the Arabic ^^is-C,
to lie doion around water, as cattle do ;
and then the derivative denotes a
place where cattle and flocks lie down
around water .: and then the passage
would mean, ' the resting places of
his herds are full, or abound with
milk.' Yet the primary idea, ac-
cording to Castell, Golius, and Lee,
is that of saturating with water j
softening, scil. a skin with water, or
dressing a skin, for the purpose of
using it as a bottle. Perhaps the
word was used with reference to the
place where camels came to drink.

JOB.

26 They shall lie down alike
in the dust, and the worms shall

because it was a place that was satu-
rated with water, or that abounded
with water. The Arabic verb, also,
according to Castell, is used in the
sense of freeing a skin from wool and
hairs — a lana pilisve levari pellem —
so that it might be dressed for use.
From this reference to a shin thus
dressed, Prof Lee supposes that the
word here means a bottle, and that
the sense is, that his bottles v/ere full
of milk ; that is, that he had great
prosperity and abundance. But it is
very doubtful whether the word will
bear this meaning, and whether it is
ever used in this sense. In the in-
stances adduced by Castell, Schul-
^ tens, and even of Prof Lee, of the
use of the word, I find no one where
it means a skin, or denotes a bottle
made of a skin. The application of
the verb to a skin is only in the sense
of saturating and dressing it. The
leading idea in all the forms of the
word, and its common use in Arabic,
is that of a place where cattle kneel
dow7i for the purpose of drinking, and
then a place well watered, where a
man might lead his camels and flocks
to water. The noun would then
come to mean a watering place — a
place that v.ould be of great value,
and which a man who had large
flocks and herds would greatly prize.
The thought here is, therefore, that
the places of this kind, in the pos-
session of the man referred to, would
abound with milk — that is, he would
have abundance. M Are full of milk.
Milk, butter and honey, are, in the
Scriptures, the emblems of plenty and
prosperity. Many of the versions,
however, here render this fat. The
change is only in the pointing of the
Hebrew word. But, if the interpre-
tation above given be correct, then
the word here mcansmilk. IF Jindhis
bones are Tnoistened with marroic.
From the belief, that bones full of
marrow are an indication of health
and vigor.

S6. They shall lie down alike in the

cover them.
27 Behold,

I know

your

dust. The emphasis here is on the
word alike — ^H"]. The idea is, that
they should die in a similar manner.
There would be no such difference
in the mode of their death as to de-
termine any thing about their charac-
ter, or to show that one was the friend
of God, and that the other was not.
The friends (.f Job had maintained,
that that could be certainl}'- known
by the divine dealings with men,
either in their life, or in their death.
Job combats this opinion, and says,
that there is no such marked dis-
tinction in their life, nor is there any
certain indication of their character
in their death. Prosperity often at-
tends the wicked as well as the right-
eous, and the death of the righteous
and the wicked resemble each other.
H A?id the xcorms shall cover them.
Cover them both. They shall alike
moulder back to dust. There is no
distinction in the grave. There is no
difference in the manner in which
they moulder back to dust. No ar-
gument can be drawn respecting their
character from the divine dealings
towards them when in life — none
from the manner of their death-
none from the mode in which they
moulder back to dust. On the refer
enc(^ to the worm here, see Notes on
ch. xiv. 11.

27. Behold, I know your thoughts.
That is, ' I see that you are not satis-
fied, and that you are disposed still
to maintain your former posi'tion.
You will be ready to ask, Where are
the proofs of the prosperity of the
wicked .'' Where arc the palaces of
the mighty.' Where are the dwell-
ing places of ungodly men.?' IF Jlnd
the devices which yc tcroi^gfully
imagine against me. The course
of sophistical argument which you
pursue, the tendency and design of
which is to prove that I am a wicked
man. You artfully lay down the po-
sition, that the wicked must be, and
are in fact, overwhelmed with cala-

CliAPTEll XXI.

307

thoughts, and the devices which
ye wrongfully imagine against
me.

28 For ye say, Where is the
house of the prince ? and where
are the ' dwelling places of the
wicked 1

1 tent of the tabernacles.

mities, and then you infer, that be-
cause / am overwhelmed in this man-
ner, I TTiust be a wicked man.

28. For ye say, Where is the house
of the prince ? That is, you main-
tain that the house of the wicked
man, in a high station, will be cer-
tainly overthrown. The parallelism,
as well as the whole connection, re-
quires us to understand the word
prince here as referring to a wicked
ruler. The word used (^"^IJ) pro-
perly means, one willing, voluntary,
prompt; then, one who is liberal,
generous, noble ; then, one of noble
birth, or of elevated rank; and then,
as princes often had that character, it
is used in a bad sense, and means a
tyrant. See Isa. xiii. 2. H Jlndioherc
are the dioelling places of the wicked ?
Marg. tent of the tabernacles. The
Hebrew is, " The tent of the dwell-
ing places." The dwelling place was
usually a tent. The meaning is, that
such dwelling places would be cer-
tainly destroyed^ as an expression of
the divine displeasure.

29. Have ye not asked them that go
by the way? Travellers, who have
passed into other countries, and who
have had an opportunity of making
observations, and of learning the
opinions of those residing there. The
idea of Job is, that they might have
learned from such travellers that such
men were reserved for future destruc-
tion, and that calamity did not imme-
diately overtake them. Information
was obtained in ancient times by
careful observation and by travel-
ling, and they who had gone into
other countries would be regarded as
peculiarly well qualified to bear tes-
timony on a point like this. They

29 Have ye not asked them
that go by the way 1 and do ye
not know their tokens,

30 That the wicked is reserv-
ed to the day of destruction 1
they shall be brought forth to the
day of ' wrath.

1 wraths,

could speak of what they had ob-
served of the actual dealings of God
there, and of the sentiments of sages
there. The idea is, that they would
confirm the truth of what Job had
said, that the wicked were often
prosperous and happy. H And do ye
not know their tokens. The signs,
or intimations which they have given
of the actual state of things in other
countries, perhaps by the inscrip-
tions, records, and proverbs, by which
they had signified, the result of their
inquiries.

30. That the wicked is reserved to
the day of destruction? He is not
punished, as you maintain, at once.
He is kept with a view to future
punishment; and though calamity
will certainly overtake him at some
time, yet it is not immediate. This
was Job's doctrine in opposition to
theirs, and in this he was undoubt-
edly correct. The only wonder is,
that they had not all seen it sooner,
and that it should have been neces-
sary to make this appeal to the testi-
mony of travellers. Rosenmilller,
Noyes, and Schultens, understand it
as meaning that the wicked are spared
in the day of destruction, that is, in
the day when destruction comes upon
other men. This accords well with
the argument which Job is maintain-
ing. Yet the word CH'^rj) rather
means, especially when followed by
? , to hold back, reserve, or retain
for something future ; and this is the
sentiment which Job was maintain-
ing, that the wicked were not cut ofl[
at once, or suddenly overwhelmed
with punishment. He did not deny
that they would be punished at some
period ; and that exact justice would

30R

JOB.

31 Who shall declare his way
to his face ? and who shall repay
him what he hath done ?

1 graves.

be done them. The point of the
controversy turned upon the inquiry
whether this would come at once^ or
whether the wicked might not live
long in prosperity. H T^iey shall be
brought forth, ^bn^^ . They shall be
led or conducted — as one is to execu-
tion. This appears as if Job held to
the doctrine of future retribution.
But when that time would be, or
what were his exact views in refer-
ence to the future judgment, is not
certainly intimated. It is clear, how-
ever, from this discussion, that he
supposed it would be beyond death,
for he says that the wicked are pros-
pered in this life ; that they go down
to the grave and sleep in the tomb ;
that the clods of the valley are sweet
unto them (vs. 3*2, 33), yet that the
judgment, the just retribution, would
certainly come. Tliis passage, there-
fore, seems to be decisive to prove
that he held to a state of retribution
beyond the grave, where the inequal-
ities of the present life would be
corrected, and where men, though
prospered here, would be treated as
they deserved. This, he says, was
the current opinion. It was that
which was brouglit by travellers,
who had gone into other lauds.
What impropriety is there in sup-
posing that he may refer to some tra-
vellers who hadgone into the country
where Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob had
lived, or then lived, and that they
had brought this back as the preva-
lent belief there .^ To this current
fiiith in that foreign land, he may
now appeal as deserving the attention
of his friends, and as meeting all that
they had said. It icould meet all
that they said. It was the exact
truth. It accorded with the course
of events. And sustained, as Job
says it was, by the prevailing opinion
in foreign lands, it was regarded by
hira as settling the controversy. It

32 Yet shall he be brought to
the ' grave, and shall ^remain in
the tomb.

2 watch in the heap.

is as true now as it was then ; and
this solution, which could come only
from revelation, settles all inquiries
about the rectitude of the divine ad-
ministration in the dispensation of
rewards and punishments. It an-
swers the question, ' How is it con-
sistent for God to bestow so many
blessings on the wicked, while his
own people are so much afflicted V
The answer is, they have their good
things in this life, and in the future
world all these inequalities will be
rectified. IT Day of torath. Marg.
as in Heb. wraths. The plural form
here is probably employed to denote
emphasis, and means the same as
fierce lorath.

31. Who shall declare his way to
his face ? That is, the face of the
wicked. Who shall dare to rise up
and openly charge him with his
guilt .'' The idea is, that none would
dare to do it, and that, therefore, the
wicked man was not punished ac-
cording to his character here, and
was reserved to a day of future
wrath. H And who shall repay him
what he hath done ? The meaning
is, that many wicked men lived with-
out being punished for their sins. No
one was able to recompense them for
the evil which they had done, and
consequently they lived in security
and prosperity. Such were the ty-
rants and conquerors, who had made
the world desolate.

32. Yet shall he be brought to the
grave. Marg. graves. That is, he
is brought with honor and prosperity
to the grave. He is not cut down by
manifest divine displeasure for his
sins. He is conducted to the grave
as other men are, notwithstanding his
enormous wickedness. The object
of this is clearly to state that he
would not be overwhelmed with ca-
lamity, as the friends of Job had
maintained, and that nothing could

CHAPTER XXI.

309

be determined in regard to lils char-
acter from the divine dealings to-
ward him in this life. II Aid shall
remain in the tomb. Marg. watch in
the heap. The marginal reading does
not make sense, though it seems to
be an exact translation of the Hebrew.
Noyes renders it, " Yet he still sur-
vives upon his tomb." Prof. Lee,
" For the tomb was he watchful ;"
that is, his anxiety was to have j
an honored and a splendid burial.
Wemyss, " They watch over his ,
tomb;" that is, he is honored in his
death, and his friends visit his tomb i
with affectionate solicitude, and keep
watch over his grave. So Dr. Good
renders it. Jerome translates it, et in
congerie mortuormn vigilabit. The
LXX, " And he shall be borne to
the graves, and he shall watch over
the tombs;" or, he shall cause a
watch to be kept over his tomb — inl

ao)oo)v ^jyovTtvtjOiV.

Amidst this va-

riety of interpretation, it is not easy
to determine the true sense of the
passage. The general meaning is
not difficult. It is, that he should be
honored even in his death ; that he
would live in prosperity, and he
buried with magnificence. There
would be nothing in his death or
burial which would certainly show
that God regarded him as a Vv'icked
man. But tliere is considerable diffi-
culty in determining the exact sense
of the original words. The word
rendered tomb in the text and heap
in the margin (^"^1^) occurs only in
the following places, Ex. xxii. 6, Job
v. 26, Judges xv. 5, where it is ren-
dered a shock -of corn, and in this
place. The verb in the Syriac, Ara-
bic, and in Chaldee, means to heap
up (see Castell), and the noun may
denote, therefore, a stack, or a heap
of grain, or a tomb, that was made
by a pile of earth, or stones. The
ancient tumuli were mere heaps of
earth or stone, and probably such a
pile was made usually over a grave
as a monument. On the meaning of
the word here used, the reader may
consult Bochart, Hieroz. P. i. L. iii.
c. xiii. p. 853. There can be little

doubt that it here means a tomb, or a
monument raised over a tomb. There
is more difficulty about the word ren-
dered " shall remain ' Oip'^J^"?). This
properly means, to wake, to be watch
ful, to be sleepless. So the Chaldee

'1)5QJ, and the Arabic JJUw. The

verb is commonly rendered in the
Scriptures, loatch, or waketh. Sec
Ps. cxxvii. 1, cii. 7, Jer. xxxi. 28,
i. 12, v. 6, xliv. 27, Isa. xxix. 20,
Exra viii. 29, Dan. ix. 14. There is
usually in the word the notion of
icatching., with a view to guarding, or
protecting, as when one watches a
vineyard, a house, or other property.
The sense here is, probably, that his
tomb should be carefully icatcked by
friends, and the verb is probably
taken impersonally, or used to denote
that some one would watch over his
grave. This might be either as a
proof of aftection, or to keep it in
repair. One of the most painful ideas
might have been then, as it is now
among American savages (Bancroft's
History of the United States, vol. iii.
p. 299), that of having the grave lefl
or violated, and it may have been re-
garded as a peculiar honor to have
had friends, who would come and
watch over their sepulchre. Accord-
ing to this view, the meaning is, that
the wicked man was often honorably
buried ; that a monument was reared
to his memory ; and that every mark
of attention was paid to him after he
was dead. Numbers followed him to
his burial, and friends came and wept
with affection around his tomb. The
argument of Job is, that there was no
such distinction between the lives
and death of the righteous and the
wicked as to make it possible to de-
termine the character; and is it not
so still ? The wicked man often dies
in a palace, and with all the comforts
that every clime can furnish to alle-
viate his pain, and to soothe him in his
dying moments. He lies upon a bed
of down ; friends attend him with un-
wearied care; the skill of medicine is
exhausted to restore him, and thcro

310

JOB.

33 The clods of the valley
shall be sweet unto him, and
every "■ man shall draw after him,

is every indication of grief at his
death. So, in the place of his burial,
a monument of finest marble, sculp-
tured with all the skill of art, is reared
over his grave. An inscription, beau-
tiful as taste can make it, proclaims
his virtues to the traveller and the
stranger. Friends go and plant roses
over his grave, that breathe forth their
odors around the spot where he lies.
Who, from the dying scene, the fii-
neral, the monument, the attendants,
would suppose that he was a man
whom God abhorred, and whose soul
was already in hell ? This is the
argument of Job, and of its solidity
no one can doubt.

33. The clods of the valley shall be
sweet unto him. That is, he shall lie
as calmly as others in the grave. The
language here is taken from that de-
lusion of which we all partake when
we reflect on death. We think of
ourselves in the grave, and it is almost
impossible to divest our minds of the
idea, that we shall be conscious there,
and be capable of understanding our
condition. The idea here is, that the
person who was thus buried, might
be sensible of the quiet of his abode,
and enjoy, in some measure, the
honors of the beautiful or splendid
tomb, in which he was buried, and
the anxious care of his friends. So
we think of our friends, though we do
not often express it. The dear child
that is placed in the dark vault, or
that is covered up in the ground — we
feel as if we could not have him
there. We insensibly shudder, as if
he might be conscious of the darkness
and chilliness, and a part of our trial
arises from this delusion. So felt the
American savage — expressing the
emotions of the heart, which, in other
cases, are often concealed. " At the
bottom of a grave, the melting snows
had left a little water; and the sight
of it chilled and saddened his imagi-
nation. ' You have no compassion
for my poor brother' — such was the

as tJiere are
him.

innumerable before

a He. 9 27.

reproach of an Algonquin — ' the air
is pleasant, and the sun so cheering,
and yet you do not remove the snow
from the grave, to warm iiim a little,'
and he knew no contentment till it
was done." Bancroft's History, U. S.
iii. 294, 295. The same feeling is
expressed by Fingal over the grave
of Gaul :

Prepare, ye children of musical strings,
Tlie bed of Gaul, and liis sun-beam by him ;
Where may be seen liis resting-place from afai
Which branches high overshadow,
Under the wing of the oak of greenest flourish,
Of quickest growth, and most durable fofm.
Which will shoot forth its leaves to the breeze

of the shower,
While the heath around is still withered.
Its leaves, from the extremity of the land,
Shall be seen by the birds in Summer j
And each bird shall perch, as it arrives,
On a sprig of its verdant branch ;
Gaul in his mist shall hear the cheerful note,
While the virgins are singing of Evirchoma.

Thus, also, Knolles (History of the
Turks, p. 332) remarks of the Sultan
Murad II., that " after his death, his
son raised the siege, and returned
back to Adrianople He caused the
dead to be buried with great solemni-
ty in the Western suburbs of Broosa,
in a chapel without a roof, in accord-
ance with the express desire of the
Sultan, in order that the mercy and
blessing oi God might descend on
him , that the sun and the moon might
shine on his grave, and the rain and
the dew of heaven fall upon it."
Rosenmiiller's Alte u. neue Morgen-
land, in loc. The word clods here, is
rendered stones by Prof. Lee, but the
more general interpretation is that of
sods, or clods. The word is used
only here, and in Job xxxviii. 38,
where it is also rendered clods. The
word valley (-'HS) means usually a
stream, brook, or rivulet, and then
a valley where such a brook runs.
Notes ch. vi. 15. It is not improba-
ble that such valleys were chosen as
burial places, from the custom of
planting shrubs and flowers around a
grave, because they would flourish

CHAPTER XXI.

311

34 How then comfort ye me

a c. 16. 2. 1 transgression.

best there. The valley of Jehosha-
phat, near Jerusalem, was long occu-
pied as a burial place. ^ And every
man shall draw after him. Some sup-
pose that this means, that he shall
share the common lot of moitals —
that innumerable multitudes have
gone thither before him — and that
succeeding generations shall follow
to the same place appointed for all
the living.^ JVoyes. Others, however,
suppose that this refers to a funeral
procession and that the meaning is,
that all the world is drawn out after
him, and that an innumerable multi-
tude precedes him when he is buried.
Others, again, suppose it means, that
his example shall attract many to
follow and adopt his practices, as
many have done before him in imi-
tating similar characters. Lee. It
is clear, that there is some notion of
honor, respect, or pomp in the lan-
guage ; and it seems to me more likely
that the meaning is, that he would
draw out every body to go to the place
where he was buried, that they might
look on it, and thus honor him.
What multitudes would go to look on
the grave of Alexander the Great !
How many have gone to look on the
place where Cesar fell ! How many
have gone, and will go, to look on
the place where Nelson or Napoleon
is buried ! This, I think, is the idea
here, that the man who should thus
die, would draw great numbers to the
place where he was buried, and that
before him, or in his presence, there
was an innumerable multitude, so
greatly would he be honored.

34. Hoio then comfort ye me in vain,
&.C. That is, how can you be quali-
fied to give me consolation in my

in " vain, seeing in your answers
there remaineth ^falsehood?

trials, who have such erroneous views
of the government and dealings of
God .'' True consolation could be
founded only on correct views of the
divine government ; but such views.
Job says, they had not. With their
conceptions of the divine administra-
tion, they could not administer to
him any real consolation. We may
learn hence, (l.)That all real conso-
lation in trial must be based on correct
apprehensions of tiie divine charac-
ter and plans. Falsehood, delusion,
error, can give no permanent comfort.
(2.) They whose office it is to ad-
minister consolation to the afflicted,
should seek after the truth about God
and his government. They should
endeavor to learn why he afflicts men,
what purpose he proposes to ac-
complish, and what are the proper
ends of trial. They should have an
unwavering conviction that he is
right, and should see as far as possible
ivhy he is right, before they attempt
to comfort others. Their own souls
should - be imbued with the fullest
conviction that all the ways of God
are holy, and then they should go and
endeavor to pour their convictions
into other hearts, and make them feel
so too. A minister of the gospel,
who has unsettled, erroneous, or false
views of the character and govern-
ment of God, is poorly qualified for
his station, and will be a ^'■miserable
comforter'' to those who are in trial.
Truth alone sustains the soul in af-
fliction. Truth only can inspire con-
fidence in God. Truth only can
break the force of sorrow, and enable
the siifFerer to look up to God and to
heaven with confidence and jov.

END OF VOL. I.

Date Due

..wrt>v«'-.''> "••-■

jTm-w-Jw

li'i^mm

»

1
1
1

1
i

i

f)